


Along Came the Sun

by fadetomorrow



Category: EXO (Band)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Teachers, M/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-09-10
Updated: 2018-09-10
Packaged: 2019-07-10 20:23:28
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 23,382
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/15956843
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/fadetomorrow/pseuds/fadetomorrow
Summary: After breaking off an engagement, Yixing was done with relationships for a while. But the universe had other plans for him.





	Along Came the Sun

**Author's Note:**

> This isn't really a pairing that I actively ship, but the prompt was too cute for me to pass up. Hope OP and everyone else enjoys! As always, thank you mods for another great round. ♥

The small apartment building Yixing lived in was in quiet neighborhood a few blocks from the main road. The commute to his job as a professor at the nearby university was short and there were plenty of decent mom and pop shops within walking distance. Over the two years living here, Yixing had gotten to know some of the owners like the tailor who's memorized his inseam and shoulder width and the auntie who runs the small diner two blocks over who knows all his favorite dishes on the menu, who sometimes asks him to try out new recipes he might like.

It was a good neighborhood, one that Yixing felt lucky to have found. The kind of place to settle down in and start a family.

The elevator doors opened to the fifth floor, the highest in the building. It was amazing not having upstairs neighbors though some nights he could easily hear the little girl in the downstairs unit forced to practice piano. Yixing stepped out and shuffled the grocery bags he was holding into one hand so he could open the door. There was a bit more commotion in the hallway than usual and he looked up to find the apartment at the end of the hall with its door wide open, two movers carefully carrying in a sofa.

Right. The previous tenant of the end unit moved out a week ago. Yixing didn't know why. His neighbors seemed to be the ones he spoke to and knew about the least. They all cohabited peacefully together and that was all that mattered.

A new voice drifted down the hall and Yixing looked over to see a man dressed in a simple jeans and t-shirt, hair tucked back under a cap, and wearing round black-rimmed glasses. He seemed to be close to Yixing's age and his eyes crinkled at the corners when he smiled, sharing some funny joke with the movers.

Yixing's immediate thought was, _He's cute_ , but he pushed that down immediately. He was in no place to be finding anyone cute, not in the state he was in. Ignoring the new neighbor, Yixing opened his door quickly and stepped inside where it was quiet and started unpacking his groceries to make dinner for one.

+

The week before the school year began was always deceptively hectic. The campus was still quiet, the students not having descended yet, but professors and other staff were busy preparing for their new cohorts. Yixing wandered into the performing arts building a little before nine, yawning but with coffee in hand. He waved to a couple staff as he took the stairs up to the second floor where the offices were.

The lights were still off in the office he shared with Baekhyun, who taught one of the core classes for the musical theater program and also provided vocal lessons. That wasn't surprising seeing as how Baekhyun always had a slow start in the mornings. Yixing left the door propped open, but figured he would have an hour or so to himself before Baekhyun showed.

They had technically already met the students enrolling this year through their audition videos. But that had been almost a year ago and Yixing liked to spend time re-watching everyone's clips, learning names, identifying strengths and weaknesses. Most importantly, which ones to keep an eye on. This was the performing arts program after all — by nature, there would be more than a few attention seekers prone to causing drama.

Yixing had completed notes on half the incoming class when Baekhyun shuffled in decked in what looked to be a tracksuit. Presumably, Baekhyun forgot to do laundry again. His hair was either uncombed or purposefully styled as bedhead chic. Yixing was never good at guessing which one on any given day.

"I can't believe I have to start getting up early again," Baekhyun said, dropping into his chair with a groan. Yixing held his tongue about how Baekhyun's earliest classes started at ten. "How do people do this all year long?"

"They manage somehow," Yixing said, taking another sip of his coffee. He didn't miss the look of envy from Baekhyun. "You can't have any. I think someone started a pot in the break room."

Baekhyun's face scrunched in disgust. "I don't know what they make, but it's not coffee."

"Then you can go to the cafe near the student center."

"You're so mean to me."

Yixing rolled his eyes. Dealing with Baekhyun was similar to managing his small cousins when he went home for the new year, some of them not even old enough for school yet. But despite the childishness, Baekhyun was a good officemate and Yixing would even consider them close friends. The latter had come about sort of by force. Yixing was the type to show up, do his job, and go home, and everything Baekhyun embodied disrupted that. From the moment they moved into this office together, Baekhyun dragged him to weekly happy hours and asked about his weekend, his family back home, his dating life.

Baekhyun was the only one at work who knew Yixing had been engaged to someone and who knew his fiancé had left him two months ago.

It was the one thing Baekhyun knew better than to bring up. He'd been there anyway when Yixing didn't know what to do, ended up calling Baekhyun because his name was the only one in Yixing's phone who didn't give him crushing anxiety at the time. Baekhyun had spent that whole weekend at Yixing's place, surrounded by photos of Yixing and his ex-fiancé, an apartment filled with the presence of two people. He had kept Yixing fed and forced him to rest while he went through the entire place and cleared away this and that until it seemed like an apartment with just a single occupant. There had been only three boxes in Yixing's living room after Baekhyun left and in that moment Yixing wondered how they had even gotten so far as a couple when their lives could be disentangled so quickly, packed up so nicely in just a few boxes.

Dealing with Baekhyun sometimes was like handling a child, but he was one of Yixing's most trusted friends.

"Come on," Yixing said and stood with a great sigh. "I'll go with you." He couldn't stop the smile when Baekhyun gave a quiet whoop in victory.

On their way back, the sun climbing high in the sky, Baekhyun yammered on about the rest of his summer, how abysmal it'd been without his girlfriend who had taken a fellowship position in Europe for the past few months. If Yixing recalled correctly, Taeyeon would be returning in a couple weeks.

"Shit," Baekhyun said, biting the straw of his iced Americano. He looked over tepidly. "Sorry, Yixing. Didn't mean to ramble on like that."

"Hm?" It took a second for Yixing to connect the dots. "Oh, Baekhyun, no. You should be excited Taeyeon's back soon. Don't pretend for my sake."

It was awkward and a bit embarrassing, sure, having other people know someone had broken off an engagement to him, but it'd be coming up on two months now and Yixing was handling each day just fine.

"I don't even really think about it that much anymore," Yixing said, kicking at a loose pebble. The clouds overhead passed over and Yixing squinted a little in the sunlight. "Is that weird? That I'm not devastated by it?"

Baekhyun shrugged. "I don't think so," he said, leaving a trail of water droplets as condensation melted off his cup. "I don't think there's a right way to react."

Yixing's ex-fiancé had been perfect. Ideal. She had a law degree from Harvard and worked for one of the top firms in the country. Her brother was Chief Resident at some leading research hospital he could never remember the name of. They dated for a couple years before moving in together, though Yixing still ended up having the apartment to himself most of the time due to her unforgiving work schedule. Yixing's had a lot of time to think about their relationship and realized in the end he couldn't be sure how much they really knew of each other. She attended one of the local musicals he choreographed their first year of dating and never really invested much time after that. Yixing had hardly been better about her interests. Law was a dry subject for him and he never knew how to talk to her about her cases, didn't know how to empathize when she was frustrated by the prosecution's arguments.

When she broke it off, she had said something about not wanting to settle. That had dug into Yixing the deepest, that he was someone she'd be settling for, the implication she could do much better if she just looked elsewhere. But now he knew he would've been settling too into a life that would've only served to make their parents comfortable. As the years passed, their personalities would have undoubtedly fed something ugly and resentful into existence. Yixing wouldn't go so far to say she saved them, but he was grateful the fallout happened when it did. His parents, on the other hand, felt less so when he broke the news to them a few weeks ago, but they'd come around eventually.

"I don't think we loved each other," Yixing said slowly. It seemed taboo to admit such a thing, but he knew it to be true. "Or, in love, at least." They had cared for each other, it just hadn't been enough.

"I could tell," Baekhyun said, grimacing though he looked relieved. "When we had that double date before Taeyeon left for the summer. I could tell, but Taeyeon told me to stay out of it. I'm sorry if that's a shitty thing to notice."

Yixing laughed a little. "It's not," he said and punched Baekhyun's arm lightly. "You're a good friend. And you can't actually keep your mouth shut. If she hadn't broken it off, I'm sure you would've staged an intervention eventually."

"That's not an incorrect theory," Baekhyun said, smiling again. He veered a little into Yixing's bubble. "So staying out of the dating scene for a while then, I assume?"

"Definitely," Yixing said, anxious just thinking about it. "You'll have to find a different couple to double date."

Baekhyun shrugged. "Collectively, Sehun and I can totally twist Junmyeon's arm into participating."

"I'm going to tell Junmyeon you said that."

"No! Don't sabotage us."

As they passed through the mall, which in just a couple weeks would be filled with students lounging around studying, napping, tossing frisbees back and forth, Yixing spotted a figure out the corner of his eye, the movement distracting with so few people in campus still. When he turned to look, the person's back was already to him, heading up the stairs to the Physics building. They seemed familiar, though Yixing thought that was weird. He didn't know anyone who worked in the Physics department.

"Who's that?"

Yixing returned his attention to Baekhyun and shrugged. "I don't know," he said, and started talking about the application materials he had been reviewing before Baekhyun arrived. It was easy to get wrapped up in that conversation, passing back and forth predictions of how the incoming students would fare.

When they got back to their office, both were ready to tackle the remaining students' materials, Baekhyun now properly alert — perhaps a little too much. Yixing didn't mind. After a tumultuous summer, it was good to finally focus on something else.

+

The start of the school year was fairly rote for Yixing, now into his third year teaching. He taught a few courses which all students wanting to major in Fine Arts needed to take. There was only one he offered this semester which was a course focusing on various dance techniques of musical theater. Students usually found it interesting since there was enough variety that all students had at least one style they excelled at, but Yixing also strived to make all the different classes accessible. Tap was usually the odd one out. Maybe he'd get one student who had some expertise, but by the end of the semester he'd always have students come up telling him it was the style they enjoyed most.

The class was usually small, reflective of how many applicants they accepted each year. Yixing's enrollment list showed just ten names. That was good. He could give each student the proper amount of attention.

The first day was always a quick introduction of the course, what students could expect to learn, and Yixing would go over his own background briefly. Some students knew him from the shows he's been in over the years, though he was still far off from achieving fame status. A week beforehand, he had sent out an email to enrolled students requesting they prepare a short performance for the first day. He preferred to speed through first day niceties so they'd have plenty of time to allow everyone to show off their talent.

This was when he could witness each person's strengths and weaknesses firsthand, validate all the notes he'd taken in the weeks before. All in all, he wanted to know who his students were and why they were here, what they were looking for. Truthfully, teaching had never been his strong suit and he took this position partially for the great benefits that came with working at a public university and because of how it would boost his own CV. What he hadn't expected was the passion which radiated off the students who passed through each year and how eager most of them were to absorb anything and everything he taught them. It kept him on his toes and was a reminder of why he worked so hard to break into the industry in the first place.

There was a student today who went at the very end and took Yixing's breath away. Glancing through his notes, Yixing identified him as Jongin, 18, an out of state student. His technique was amazing, but beyond that was a drive that Yixing didn't see often. With Jongin it vibrated in every stretch of his arms overhead, carried him in every jump across the stage, bore into anyone who stared into his eyes when his body finally came to a standstill.

As Jongin receded back into the group of students, Yixing caught his eye and gave a small smile. The little bit of tension which had also been present in each pirouette and grand jete — nerves, Yixing supposed — seemed to lift from Jongin's shoulders. Pleased that Jongin seemed to understand he did very well, Yixing wrapped up the rest of day one.

+

"When will I stop being irresistible?" Baekhyun said, collapsing into his chair and immediately slouching halfway down. The position gave him a double chin.

"You have admirers already?" Yixing set aside his mug to let the tea steep some more.

"A couple girls asked me when my office hours would be this week," Baekhyun said. "What could they _possibly_ need help on at the beginning of the semester? I literally haven't even given them homework."

"Guess your only option is to become ugly."

"A Herculean — nay, impossible task."

Yixing rolled his eyes and sipped his tea. "Any students I need to watch out for?" Since he and Baekhyun both taught core classes needed for most of the BFA concentrations, the incoming class often took their courses at the same time.

"No red flags," Baekhyun said, finally sitting up straight. "There's a promising kid though. Name's Chanyeol and seems like he can learn any instrument he gets his hands on. Already plays drums, guitar, and piano."

"That's impressive."

"Yeah, I'm hoping to trip him up with like, finger cymbals or something."

"Society is truly lucky to have you as an educator shaping young minds."

"What about you?" Baekhyun said, stretching his arms over his head with a yawn. "Any drama like last year?" He was referring to last spring's semester when student romance drama seeped into Yixing's classroom. Two high school sweethearts who had been dating for a couple years already enrolled in his Intro to Stage Acting course and things had gone pretty well until midway through the semester when the girlfriend caught the boyfriend with another boy from class.

It made in-class exercises a bit awkward, to say the least.

"I don't think so," Yixing said. He clicked the refresh button of his email a few times as if it might make something interesting appear in his inbox. It didn't. "There's a kid with lots of raw talent though. Jongin. Has to be a dance major."

"You always have such a soft spot for the dancers." Baekhyun didn't say it to tease, but more as a matter of fact.

Yixing shrugged a little and smiled into his mug. "Maybe. I have soft spots for other things too."

"Like what? You know you have a reputation for being hard on the kids."

Yixing frowned. "I do not."

"Your course evaluations literally said, _'I know Mr. Zhang wants us to do well but I wish he were less serious all the time in class.'_ "

"That was one student," Yixing insisted.

"Yeah, the rest just complained about how strict your end of semester judging was."

The feedback didn't matter much to Yixing. In fact, if students found his class challenging, then the class was doing exactly as Yixing intended it. He knew students thought these core courses were supposed to be easy A's, but what was the point of attending university if it didn't teach someone how to work hard? So yes, everyone knew his classes were difficult, but students could also count on learning something each week and Yixing prided himself on that.

"Come on, I'm famished," Baekhyun said, slapping his hand on his desk. "Let's go to that Vietnamese place on 4th ave."

"Didn't you have lunch just 3 hours ago?"

"Yeah, exactly," Baekhyun said, standing up. " _Starving._ "

Yixing sighed and locked his computer. "All right, fine. Before you wilt away."

+

The thing which probably annoyed Yixing the most about being single again was that cooking for one was unbearable. Recipes were almost always for at least two and he often reasoned it was better to order out since he always ended up tossing all the produce in his fridge every two weeks after he got a burst of motivation to be healthy and cook for himself. Though the more he thought about it, with how often his ex-fiance had been gone, really it had always been like this.

This is where he found himself on this Friday night, TV on in the background as he dug through the drawer of delivery menus for something that seemed somewhat appetizing. He decided on sushi and spent the time waiting tidying his apartment, although there was hardly anything to really clean. He wasn't a messy person to begin with.

When the food came, Yixing paid for it in cash and included a decent tip. Before he closed the door, he noticed the apartment at the end of the hall also getting dinner delivered. His new neighbor caught him looking and Yixing gave an apologetic smile, feeling a bit awkward about staring so blatantly. But his neighbor just smiled back wide and waved, raising his bag of food as if to acknowledge some camaraderie over both of them ordering in. He looked a lot different than the day he moved in, dressed in a dark pair of jeans with a light button-up. Certainly no baseball cap. Fairly sure he'd stared too long, Yixing shuffled back and closed the door.

The thick-rimmed glasses had still been present though. Without the cap, Yixing got an even better look at his face and it was still a really good face.

Yixing sighed and stopped his thoughts from going further. It wasn't worth the trouble.

+

Audition dates for the fall musical went up. Yixing made sure to let his students know, especially since he was going to be the director and would be on the casting panel. Generally, first years who tried out would get roles in the chorus with perhaps one or two speaking lines. The ones who didn't make the cut usually contributed by signing up as ushers or helped out with the building the set.

He could see the drive in Jongin's expression the moment he announced when the initial auditions would be held. The very first year Yixing taught, a freshman managed to get a secondary role, but he'd never seen the lead roles go to anyone but juniors and seniors. But he had a feeling if any newbie was going to steal the spotlight, it'd be Jongin.

"When are pit auditions starting?" Yixing said when he met up with Baekhyun for lunch. They were at a barbecue place Baekhyun kept craving and it was easier for Yixing to enable him than allow Baekhyun to distract everyone around him by not shutting up about how much he wanted ribs.

Baekhyun sucked — there was no other word for it — all the meat off a rib in one go. It was both disgusting and impressive at the same time. At least he chewed and swallowed before answering. "In a week. I'm putting flyers up this afternoon."

They had picked Aladdin as the musical. Most students had seen the movie when they were young and the musical itself was fun and action-packed and exciting for those who enjoyed set design and costuming as well. This would be his and Baekhyun's third musical they've led and Yixing genuinely enjoyed the experience of working with Baekhyun.

"Are you going to push that prodigy to join?"

"Chanyeol?"

Yixing nodded.

"Maybe. He likes the spotlight so if he doesn't audition for pit, he's probably going to go for the acting and singing."

It wasn't uncommon for music majors to audition. Yixing looked forward to meeting this student that Baekhyun so clearly favored even though he tried not to show it.

"He can sing?"

Baekhyun rolled his eyes and sucked the sauce off his fingertips. "Yeah, it's so annoying. Like, fine, be good at instruments, but why also have a singing voice specifically designed to croon acoustic covers during evenings at the coffee shop? Is that necessary? Who made him?"

Yixing laughed and tossed Baekhyun a wet wipe. "Now you've got me hoping he'll show up."

"Some people just need to be told that overachieving is a negative characteristic to have."

Yeah, Chanyeol was definitely the favorite. "All right, if you say so."

"I do! I do say so." Baekhyun's phone chimed and he glanced at it quickly. "Oh, Taeyeon made too much food for dinner and is asking if you want to come over."

It was strange how often Taeyeon's been misreading recipes and making too much when she's never been this error prone in all the time Yixing's known her. He had already been to their place over the weekend and the Tuesday before. It was nice of them to care so much, but Yixing couldn't take feeling like a third wheel for another week.

"I'm okay," Yixing said, shaking his head. "Took some chicken out of the freezer last night." That was a lie. All he had in his fridge was some bottles of water and a jar of chili paste. Maybe an apple.

"That was a terrible lie. I've been to your place and your barren kitchen."

Yixing rolled his eyes. Honestly if he went over for dinner one more time, he'd start seeing Baekhyun and Taeyeon as helicopter parents, which was kind of hilarious to imagine given both were shorter than him. "Fine. A new restaurant just opened next to my apartment that I wanted to check out. It'll be good to support local businesses. Trickle down economics, right?"

Baekhyun stared at Yixing for a drawn out moment, then sighed and grabbed the check. "Okay, but next week you're coming over!"

Yixing laughed and threw another wet wipe at Baekhyun's face. "You've still got honey barbecue all over your mouth," he said, by which he meant, _of course, next week._

+

The claim about a new restaurant hadn't been a lie. _The Cluckin' Rooster_ had its soft opening a couple weeks ago and while the giant bronze rooster statue outside was still a little creepy (it was almost as tall as him), the employee outside giving out coupons seemed friendly enough.

Yixing had just put in his takeout order when someone else reached around him for the menu. He didn't pay them much mind and was a bit startled when this person put their hand on his shoulder.

"Oh! Aren't you my neighbor? Apartment 5K?"

Yixing wanted to believe he needed a moment to figure out who was in front of him, but that was a lie. He recognized immediately the new tenant at the end of the hall.

"The building next door," his neighbor said. "Apartment 5D."

Yeah, Yixing knew that already. "Oh, right," he said, clearing his throat. "I forgot someone new moved in." 

Apartment 5D stuck his hand out. "I'm Jongdae," he said with a wide, easy grin. He was wearing different glasses today, silver wire-rimmed ones this time, and Yixing didn't know how he even noticed such a small thing when he'd only seen glimpses of the guy twice in the past month. They shook hands and Yixing liked that he had a nice, normal handshake. He never knew what to do with people who had awkward handshakes. Baekhyun was one of those. When they first met, their handshake was him grabbing just Baekhyun's fingers. He'd given some gentle feedback since then.

Yixing introduced himself too and pointed at the menu still in Jongdae's hand. "Getting dinner to go?"

"Yeah, I'm usually not this terrible about eating out all the time, but with just moving in and starting my new job, things have been a little hectic. I still haven't even unpacked all my dishes." It seemed Jongdae liked to laugh. It was actually kind of loud, same with his voice, but not obnoxious at all.

"I won't keep you from it then," Yixing said, gesturing at the register while he moved to the side.

"Oh! Right."

Yixing's directed his attention elsewhere. Maybe they knew each other's names now, but it still seemed a bit invasive to watch the guy order chicken. He watched people walk by outside, a few students who also lived in the area, but mostly other adults on their way home from work or couples and families headed out to dinner.

"So, you lived here long?" Jongdae rejoined Yixing, pocketing his wallet. "I've been meaning to meet other people in the building, but I haven't really run into anyone and I feel weird going around knocking on doors, especially when I don't even have anything to give them."

"A few years now," Yixing said. He wasn't the greatest at small talk, but was compelled to continue with how avidly Jongdae was watching him. "It's a good neighborhood. Mostly families. Nice parks. Lots of good restaurants. If you like that sort of thing."

"I do," Jongdae said, not really clarifying which of what Yixing listed he specifically liked.

"What made you pick this city?" Yixing said.

Jongdae grinned. "My job. I didn't really have that much of a choice. I only had one other job offer and it was in a tiny town, maybe population ten thousand, so this one it was."

It was similar to Yixing's own position years ago. He had felt stuck in the city he was in, but didn't really know where to go. On a whim, he sent out applications everywhere and this university was the one who offered him a decent salary and wasn't in the middle of nowhere.

Even though he gained and lost a fiance here, he realized it didn't make him hate the city. It had been good to him from the start and he'd built up a small, but solid group of friends no thanks to Baekhyun introducing him to others he'd get along with. During video chats with his parents, they asked now and then if he wanted to move back home, to let his mom set him up with daughters of family friends, but he declined politely each time. There was a tug of permanence from this place and he wanted to hold onto it.

"Well, I hope you really like it here," Yixing said, just as his number was called to say his food was ready.

"Hey," Jongdae said when Yixing turned back around. "If you don't mind waiting a bit, do you want to come over and eat together?" He held his hands up. "Sorry, unless you have like a girlfriend or something who I just haven't seen yet."

It was a bit unexpected to be invited over by someone he'd just met, but Yixing found himself raising his bag of takeout, clearly portioned for one, and said, "No, it's just me."

"So that's a yes?" Jongdae looked like he was trying to contain his eagerness and Yixing couldn't decide if that was concerning. But he remembered what it was like just moving to a new town and how lonely it was before he met Baekhyun and his social circle grew.

Yixing smiled. "Sure. It'd be nice to not eat alone again." He grimaced a little. "Wow, that sounded really lame."

But Jongdae just laughed and shook his head. "Trust me, you're preaching to the choir."

A couple minutes later, they were walking out together, dinner swinging between them. Jongdae was listing all the things he still had in boxes all over his apartment and Yixing thought absently that as long as he didn't discover something alarming tonight about his neighbor, maybe he'd offer to help him finish moving in that weekend. He promptly forgot about the thought as soon as he had it, distracted by the sharp burst of laughter next to him that already seemed familiar.

+

"How was your dinner?"

Yixing brow scrunched up in confusion over the top of his coffee. He sat down and booted up his computer. "What?"

"Your dinner. That you had instead of coming over and having the _delicious, mouthwatering_ lamb chops Taeyeon _slaved_ over last night."

"That's dramatic," Yixing said calmly. "And it was great, thanks for asking."

Actually, he had no memory of dinner itself. He and Jongdae barely stopped chatting long enough to actually eat, talking about everything from the last movie they saw to the next vacation they wanted to go on. Jongdae's apartment had been very normal looking, the half-unpacked boxes loitering here and there exactly the way Jongdae had described. The living room was just a sofa and coffee table, a couple of birch side tables still tucked in the corner with plastic-wrapped lamps on top of them and next to them, an empty bookshelf. Yixing didn't even need to offer his help starting on the weekend; they ended up clearing through all the boxes labeled "KITCHEN" after dinner.

"Wow," Jongdae had said after they finished, dusting off his hands. "I guess I can't make excuses anymore about why I need to order delivery."

There hadn't been a single red flag about Jongdae the entire night. Yixing had finally left around eleven, way too late for a school night, honestly, making plans to tackle unloading Jongdae's boxes of books on that Saturday. It hadn't gone unnoticed that he kept stealing glances at Jongdae's face, finding it just as nice to look at up close compared to the glimpses from down the hall.

What he told Baekhyun a few weeks ago was still true. He wasn't ready to date again, but it didn't feel terrible to allow himself to think someone was attractive. Jongdae pulled off glasses really well. It would feel like a waste if Yixing didn't appreciate that.

"You seem different."

Yixing hunched over a little and scanned his emails. Now that information about the musical was announced and audition dates official, so began the questions from students eager to get a major role. Everyone wanted an upper hand. "I'm wearing a new shirt."

"No, you're not. You only have, like, ten shirts. I have all of them memorized."

"I have more than ten shirts," Yixing said, maybe a little defensively. "Why have you memorized my entire wardrobe?"

"Because I'm a good friend."

"If you were a good friend, you'd know there's nothing different about me."

"There's nothing different about your shirt, but there's definitely something else." Baekhyun pointed a determined finger at Yixing. "I'm going to figure it out. I always figure it out."

That was true. People who didn't know Baekhyun were inclined to think he was a bit of an airhead, but that was the complete opposite of Baekhyun's true self. He had a freakish intuition and an uncanny memory and Yixing knew that sooner or later, no matter how much he tried to act normal, Baekhyun would get him to slip.

"You should save yourself the trouble and just tell me."

Yixing sighed and shot Baekhyun an exasperated look. "If I tell you, you can't make a big deal out of it."

Baekhyun had the decency to look offended. "When do I make a big deal out of anything?"

Yixing didn't bother to list all the times just since the beginning of the school year. "I'm going to take that as agreement," he said, sitting back in his chair. He took a moment to enjoy Baekhyun's clear impatience in the way he kept tapping a pen against his desk, barely even blinking as he stared at Yixing. "I had dinner with a new neighbor. He moved in just before the semester began."

Baekhyun frowned slightly, lips pursed. "That's it?"

Yixing shrugged. "I stayed to help him finish unpacking some stuff too."

"I don't get it, why would I make a big deal out of you being nice to a new neighbor?"

They both recognized his slip up at the same time. Yixing cursed and rubbed his face, attempting to focus on his work again in a piss poor effort to ignore Baekhyun's blossoming gleeful grin.

"Oh my god. You weren't just being nice. This was a date."

"It was absolutely not a date. We happened to get take out at the same place."

"You got take out together!"

"Your listening comprehension is impressively terrible."

Baekhyun clapped rapidly. "This is so exciting. Tell me his name, what does he do?"

Yixing hesitated. Giving Baekhyun this information would be too dangerous. He already gave up the guy's address, but not telling Baekhyun only meant he'd be pestered until he caved, so he might as well do it now. "His name is Jongdae," he said with a sigh. "And I don't know what he does. We didn't talk about it."

Baekhyun's eyes widened. "You didn't even talk about your jobs? You had that much else to talk about?"

"It just didn't come up. That's totally normal."

"It's so not. Everyone talks about what they do for a living on a first date."

"Wasn't a date," Yixing said loudly.

"But there's something there," Baekhyun insisted, even a little smug about it. It was annoying, but he knew he couldn't deny it. "If there wasn't, you wouldn't have bothered telling me not to make a big deal out of it."

Yeah, that was definitely the slip. Yixing had no one to blame but himself. "I mean, he's a little bit cute, that's all. He wears glasses and it gives him that nerdy chic look. But that's it."

"Hold on, I need to tell Taeyeon immediately." Baekhyun grabbed his phone and started typing furiously. Yixing figured he had maybe 30 seconds before his own phone would start lighting up with messages from her. At least they complemented each other, Yixing had to give them that.

"Are you going to see him again?"

Yixing perched his chin on his hand and scrolled aimlessly up and down his inbox. Nothing on his screen was registering. "I don't know," he said casually.

"You're precious. I can see through everything."

Yixing sighed and looked at Baekhyun with as much seriousness as he could pull off without coming across genuinely annoyed. "I don't want you and Taeyeon getting your hopes up. I meant what I said before. I just broke up with my fiance not even six months ago. The last thing I want right now is a new relationship. The last thing I need, quite frankly."

Baekhyun finally got the hint, but he didn't hide his discouragement at being told to stop. "Okay, yeah. You're right. I just, you know."

"I do know," Yixing said. "You're the closest friend I have and I appreciate you looking after me. But this really isn't anything. It's not even a crush."

"Okay, but," Baekhyun started to say, already having brushed off Yixing's gentle reprimanding. "There's no rule for how long you're supposed to wait after calling off an engagement. If you end up liking him, you should go for it." Before Yixing can respond, Baekhyun rushes on. "I'm just saying! You have the right to tend to your wounds, I just don't want you to avoid real feelings out of guilt."

Yixing understood what Baekhyun meant and he did appreciate how well Baekhyun knew him, even though it included pointing out his insecurities. "Okay, all right." He stood up and shook his coffee cup, almost empty. "Come on, I need more coffee. I'm still tired."

"Oh my god, what did you two do last night?"

Yixing shoved Baekhyun's shoulder when he came around the desks, but pulled him in immediately after. "Honestly, wouldn't you like to know the details."

"There are young, impressionable minds around these parts. Don't be so crass."

Laughing, Yixing dragged Baekhyun out of the office and changed the topic, asking about what night he should go over next week. But Baekhyun's advice lingered in the back of his mind, bookmarked to consider after he saw Jongdae again.

They had exchanged phone numbers before he went back to his own apartment a few nights ago. Jongdae was the one who had asked for Yixing's phone right as Yixing was about to slip on his shoes. It took Jongdae inputting half his number into it before Yixing realized why he'd ask for the phone in the first place. Jongdae had called himself immediately after so Yixing would have his number too.

Yixing texted Jongdae when they got back to campus, though purposely waited until after Baekhyun ran off to teach his afternoon course: _you want help unpacking this weekend?_

The reply came almost instantly, an enthusiastic " _yes please!!_ " and Yixing could already hear it in Jongdae's voice.

Yixing didn't know what he was doing, but at the very least it was good to make a new friend and be a friend to someone who was new to the city. Maybe that person looked cute in glasses and sparked certain emotions that he hadn't felt in a long time. Maybe that should be worrisome, but Yixing was tired of figuring out how he should or shouldn't be coping over a sudden fallout in his personal life. He would let this play out however it wanted to, no expectations or pressure.

_I'll bring dinner :)_

+

First round of auditions for the fall musical came quickly. The auditorium was filled almost ten rows deep with students vying for a spot in the cast. Yixing gave a pep talk before it started, reminding them all to relax and have fun and how he was looking forward to everyone's performance. Which was true. Even the bad auditions, as awkward as they could be, still required the courage to get on stage to begin with.

Jongin went somewhere in the middle. His monologue and vocals were a bit weak, but his dance portion more than made up for it. He practically soared across the stage and Yixing easily marked him down as a pass to the next round.

Yixing also finally met the infamous Chanyeol and understood immediately what Baekhyun had meant about his coffee shop vocals. It was obvious he had never taken any formal lessons, but there was something still naturally soothing about his voice. The dancing, on the other hand, clearly did not come naturally but Chanyeol was a good sport about it.

It took the entire afternoon to get through everyone and Yixing badly wanted to just lie down. The chair he was in was stiff and uncomfortable and made his lower back ache. He winced a little when he stood at the end, but he hid it quickly and thanked all the students for their time. Callbacks for round two would go up in a few days.

Yixing headed straight home and felt his phone buzz in his pocket halfway there. It was Jongdae asking if he wanted Thai or Indian.

It had only been a couple weeks, but he and Jongdae had already fallen into a pattern where most nights they'd get take out from the same place and eat together at one of their apartments. Yixing texted back his choice and was suddenly a little less tired. This was the most social interaction Yixing's had in months, years even since his ex-fiance had always been gone either on work trips or putting in long hours at the office. He had never minded since he was someone who needed alone time to recharge, so it was surprising that seeing Jongdae so often hadn't started to exhaust him.

At home, Yixing hopped in the shower and changed into a t-shirt and sweatpants. He was towelling his hair dry when his phone buzzed again on his dresser, Jongdae giving a heads up that he just got home with their food. Yixing replied he'd be over in ten.

The door to Jongdae's apartment was left ajar, but Yixing still knocked as a warning as he stepped inside. The smell of curry and garlic naan was immediate but Jongdae wasn't anywhere to be found. Yixing poked his head around the corner and saw the bathroom door was closed and assumed Jongdae was in there.

Yixing already had his food and was on the couch when Jongdae came out. He didn't even look surprised when he saw Yixing making himself at home in the living room, but did pause and stare briefly like Yixing had something on his shirt.

"What is it?" Yixing said, looking down at himself. "Did I already spill something?"

"No," Jongdae said, clearing his throat. He pointed behind himself. "I'm gonna get food."

Jongdae's apartment finally looked like someone lived there. The bookshelves were no longer bare and the sofa even had a couple throw pillows. Yixing liked coming over. It felt more homely than his own place even after years of living here.

"God, work was brutal today," Jongdae said, setting down his plate and basically throwing himself onto the couch. One arm lands across Yixing's chest. "Students never show up to classes or office hours until the week before midterms." He sat up with a heavy groan and dug into his food.

"Students?" It was then that Yixing realized they've never talked about what Jongdae did for a living. Or himself, for that matter. "Do you teach?"

"Yeah, at the university."

"This university?" Yixing pointed out the window, as if there were any other campus within 100 miles of this place.

Jongdae laughed. "Yeah. Why, do I not seem fit to be a professor? I know you saw how bad I was at moving, but I am good at other things."

"No, it's just," Yixing began, licking raita from the corner of his lips. "I teach there too."

"No shit!" Jongdae's expression was almost comical, eyes widening like it was the most shocking thing he ever heard. "Which department?"

"Performing arts. Musical theater to be exact."

"That's so cool. I'm in the Physics building. Astronomy."

Yixing didn't know much about either, both topics that he took in high school and his own college years, but had forgotten almost completely in the time since. He wished he had retained some information so he could make interesting conversation. Instead he said, "Wow, science," and cringed on the inside immediately after.

If Jongdae found that unimpressive, he didn't show it. "Yeah, not as fun as theater, I'm sure, but we got dark matter even though none of us know what it actually is."

Yixing took a piece of naan and broke it in half, handing the other piece to Jongdae. "Midterms aren't even that bad. It's finals that are the worst and you basically have to re-teach the entire syllabus in a week during off hours."

Jongdae shook his head. "I should've just gone for a job with the government."

After that, Yixing talked a bit about the classes he taught and how auditions were underway for the fall musical.

"Let me know when tickets go on sale," Jongdae said. "I'll make it to at least one show."

People said that all the time when Yixing told them about the performances he was involved in, but most never actually followed through. But he got the feeling that Jongdae was one of those who meant what they said. "Yeah, of course."

They cleaned up together after they finished, stomachs on the verge of too full. The twinge in Yixing's back returned when he tried to stand and he couldn't catch himself in time to stop the hiss of pain escape his mouth or to keep from holding his waist as he sank back into the couch.

"You okay?" Jongdae sat back down too and touched Yixing's arm, peeking down. "What happened?"

Yixing shook his head. "Nothing. I'm fine. My back just acts up once in a while."

"Well, don't move."

Which, Yixing wasn't planning on it. He closed his eyes and breathed in and out evenly, trying to will the muscle spasms away. He heard Jongdae clear the plates and was a little embarrassed that he had to be cleaned up after and for Jongdae to see him so helpless. After a minute or so, Jongdae returned and this time touched Yixing's waist lightly.

"What do you usually do to stop it?"

Yixing peeked one eye open, brows pinched together. "Not a lot. Wait it out."

"Would a massage help? Or just make it worse?"

"Massages are fine, I guess," Yixing said. They actually helped a lot, but he didn't want to come off begging, even though he was close to it. He hated that his back always flared up without warning and in the worst moments. All he did today was sit around like any other day.

"Lie down then."

The touch on Yixing's waist pressed a little, guiding him down slowly with the other hand supporting his shoulder. "Easy," Jongdae said softly when Yixing winced again, letting go when Yixing was able to shift onto his stomach.

"My older brother hurt his back in college and I had to learn some basic techniques to help with his physical therapy." Jongdae climbed onto the couch and straddled Yixing's thighs as he said this. He ran his fingers down Yixing's spine and gingerly touched the left side just above Yixing's waist. "Was it here?"

Yixing nodded and inhaled sharply when Jongdae started massaging around the sore spot.

"How'd you hurt it? If you don't mind me asking."

"I used to dance professionally," Yixing said, trying to stay relaxed. "I didn't watch out for my form when we were doing lifts and so this happened."

"That really sucks," Jongdae said, gradually increasing pressure. His palm was warm through Yixing's shirt and made the pain easier to tolerate. "Sorry, I don't know what to really say."

"It's all right. At the time, it seemed like the worst thing and my life was over, but I like what I do now, watching these kids work toward their dreams, you know? I'm not very much into the concept of fate, but sometimes even I think maybe things were meant to work out like this."

"That's a good way to think about it," Jongdae said and Yixing could hear the smile in his voice even if he couldn't see it.

It was quiet between them after that, Jongdae carefully easing the tightness in Yixing's back away. Toward the end, Yixing almost drifted asleep, stopped only by Jongdae moving off of him. It was a bit jarring, the sudden lightness, and Yixing almost asked for Jongdae to stay.

"I'll get some ice," Jongdae said, squeezing the other side of Yixing's waist gently.

Yixing opened his eyes to watch Jongdae disappear into the kitchen, but pretended he wasn't looking when Jongdae returned.

"You're good at this," Yixing said, exhaling slowly when Jongdae held the makeshift ice pack to his waist.

"I hope so," Jongdae laughed. "I did this so many times for my brother. It's good to know I haven't lost my touch." He knelt down on the floor which meant his face was suddenly quite close to Yixing's.

It wasn't possible to look anywhere else without making it obvious. Jongdae's focus was on Yixing's waist for the moment, making sure the ice was evenly distributed over the area. But then he looked up and Yixing's entire body froze up for a split second at how undeniably breathtaking Jongdae looked up close. Jongdae's smile grew, but softened at the same time and something similar to fear, but that wasn't it really, made Yixing break into a sweat.

A lock of Yixing's hair fell into his eyes. Jongdae's hand came up, hesitated for a moment, and tucked it back again, his hand staying hovering over Yixing's head.

"Is this okay?" Jongdae said and for the first time, he looked unsure, none of his usual confidence or laid back good nature to be found.

Yixing really wanted to say yes. But being responsible was such a core part of his personality that he couldn't, at least not before he said a bunch of other things first.

"I used to be engaged," Yixing said, with no ounce of grace. It made no sense as a reply, but he wasn't mentally in a place to figure out how to ease into the conversation. "She broke it off a few months ago." Jongdae took his hand away almost immediately, so Yixing rushed more words out. "I didn't mean it like that. I like guys too."

Jongdae nodded slowly. "But you're not looking for a relationship?"

It was awkward talking to Jongdae like this. Yixing pushed himself up carefully and took over from Jongdae holding the bag of ice to his waist. "I don't know what I'm looking for. I just wanted to be honest with you."

"I appreciate that," Jongdae drew his knees up to his chest and hugged them. He was smiling again, but Yixing still felt bad for some reason. Maybe because he ruined a moment between them that could have led to Jongdae kissing him and instead dropped a bunch of emotional baggage that Jongdae didn't really need to hear.

"Sorry," Yixing said, biting his bottom lip.

"Don't apologize," Jongdae said, springing up to sit next to Yixing. "Really, I'm glad you were honest. I've had miscommunication lead to unnecessary drama before. I just hope this doesn't make things awkward between us? You're kind of the only person I really know around here and I don't want to lose out on that."

Yixing didn't either. He shook his head and offered what he hoped was a reassuring smile. "Can't get rid of me like that."

"Good."

Still, even though they made plans before Yixing went back to his apartment to meet up again over the weekend, it was clear that something had shifted between them. It was so easy just a few days ago to believe he'd take things as they came, but at that time he didn't really believe anything would happen. But now it was out in the open, that his attraction wasn't one way. This type of thing didn't really happen to him, a situation where someone liked him and he needed to decide what to do with that knowledge.

Truth was, the moment Yixing returned to his own apartment he knew what he wanted, but didn't have the confidence to admit it to himself. It stayed in the back of his mind instead, harmless, but still there, like it knew it was only a matter of time before Yixing had to confront it.

+

Only a matter of time ended up being two days later when the weekend finally rolled around. 

By then, Yixing had agonized about the situation so much that just wanted to get it over with, not wanting to spend a single second longer in his own head picking apart how Jongdae might or might not react to what he had to say.

He had thought about telling Baekhyun at work, but hadn't wanted to deal with the deluge of questions he'd get. Baekhyun had made it pretty clear what his opinion was anyway and Yixing did appreciate it. He just didn't want to make a certain decision just because Baekhyun was encouraging him in the moment. If he was going to jump in, it should be because he genuinely wanted it.

Even though he'd made up his mind, the nerves were still there. Yixing paced up and down the hall between his door and Jongdae's, definitely looking incredibly suspicious should anyone step out. He rubbed his hands over his face and took a deep breath, then took three large strides up to Jongdae's apartment and knocked on the door.

The five seconds it took for Jongdae to answer were the longest of Yixing's life, or so it seemed. He held his breath the whole time and the moment Jongdae came into view, Yixing blurted out, "Let's go on a date."

Jongdae stared at him through his square tortoise-shell frames. "Should we talk about it first?"

Yixing would've taken that as rejection had Jongdae not thrown him a small smile. "Yeah. I suppose that's a good idea."

Jongdae stepped aside to invite Yixing in. There were a couple of delivery menus on the counter, but also a pot of something simmering away on the stove. "There's two things I can make," Jongdae said when Yixing looked between the stove and him curiously. "One of them happens to be my mom's amazing pork bone soup. It still has to simmer for a bit though." He went into the fridge and grabbed two beers and gestured with them toward the living room.

Suddenly Yixing didn't know how to sit properly, shifting his weight around a few times before he settled on a perfect 90-degree angle.

"You look uncomfortable," Jongdae said, elbows propped on his knees as he popped the cap off one bottle and handed it to Yixing.

"I'm not doing too good," Yixing admitted. He couldn't make direct eye contact, but was all too aware of Jongdae watching in his peripheral vision. Alcohol probably wasn't a good idea, and he didn't even like beer that much, but he drank it anyway to distract from the silence. He just barely kept from grimacing at the taste.

"Tell me about your ex."

That was not how Yixing expected this conversation to go. He stared at Jongdae briefly in shock, but Jongdae only turned toward Yixing and perched his arm on the back of the couch, exuding nothing but patience. And good looks.

"What do you want to know?"

Jongdae shrugged. "How did you two meet?"

Again, not what Yixing expected. "Our parents knew each other. They weren't that close, but enough to be acquaintances, part of the same circle. Introducing your kids to each other was typical." Jongdae only nodded, so Yixing kept going, He spoke about how it was after he'd hurt his back and when he was still feeling awful about everything and maybe for that reason he invested in the relationship more than he should have, desperate to put meaning into something else. He talked about how it had been really nice in the beginning, spending all their time together and eventually becoming serious enough to move into the apartment down the hall. It was after that point that things began to change. She got promoted a month after they settled in and suddenly was putting in more hours, working most weekends, and whenever Yixing brought it up she'd just tell him he should understand why her hard work was so important, that she had aspirations which could only be achieved by dedicating her life to it.

Yixing paused and picked at the label on his bottle, wrinkled now from the condensation. "I make her sound cold, but she wasn't. She knew what she wanted, what was the most important to her, and she never hid it. I just didn't want to see it from the beginning."

"You said she broke things off?"

Yixing nodded. "We hadn't even been fighting," he said, easing back into a slouch. "She just, came home one night, late as usual, and said we should stop seeing each other." In that moment, she had reminded Yixing of the person he first met. She had leaned against the wall, wiggling her toes finally free after a long day in heels, her hair let down from the bun it had been in, and she had looked at Yixing with what he later realized was care even though she was about to do something which seemed the opposite. "Anyway, that was almost four months ago. She stayed with a friend and moved out completely a week later."

"Why did you propose to her?"

No one had asked Yixing that before, which maybe was odd. Maybe others just assumed he proposed for the same reasons anyone did, but who could really say what those were?

"There was a few weeks in March when things were good again. She had been working on this grueling case and finally it was over and her side won. So she got a month off as a reward. We went to Italy over spring break and it was like there had never been any tension between us. I got caught up in that, I guess, and proposed a week after we got back."

"She probably did too, if she said yes," Jongdae said and Yixing supposed there was some truth in there. Scooting closer, Jongdae set his beer on the coffee table and clasped his hands together. "And now you're here."

"Yeah. Now I'm here." Showing up at his neighbor's door and blurting out that they should date even though just a month ago he was telling Baekhyun that the last thing he wanted was to get involved with someone.

"What happened in the three days since we last saw each other? When you said you didn't know what you were looking for?"

Yixing bit his lip, unsure of how truthful he wanted to be. He could say some stuff about how he didn't want to miss out on something that could be really good simply because he just ended a long-term relationship. Or how his coworker encouraged him not to be afraid of dating again as a way to help him heal. But in reality, it was because he spent the past 72 hours replaying over and over again the image of Jongdae's face moving closer to his and regretting that he disrupted the moment. How badly he wanted to know what Jongdae's lips felt like.

"I couldn't stop thinking about it," is what Yixing settled on.

"What, exactly, is 'it'?"

Yixing took a sip of his steadily moving toward room temperature beer. "Kissing you," he managed to squeeze out. "You kissing me." It sounded like such a terrible, shallow reason once he's said it out loud. He stared resolutely at the floor, counting the agonizingly long seconds that ticked by, and drew a large breath, ready to tell Jongdae to forget it. But Jongdae spoke first.

"Three days of thinking about kissing me, huh?"

Yixing couldn't help but laugh, a slightly helpless noise that left him. "I — yes. Is that. Too much?"

"Nah." Jongdae shook his head and finished his beer. "But four days — that would've been too much." He dropped his hand to Yixing's shoulder and squeezed. "Come on, food's probably ready."

There would be more to talk about, but for now Yixing followed Jongdae to the kitchen and helped set the table. Once they sat down across from each other Yixing thought that this could easily be a date. Maybe Jongdae did too but neither of them said anything about it. Instead, they talked about how much they wanted midterms to just be over with and Yixing told Jongdae more about the kids in this year's freshman class of performance majors.

"You seem protective of this Jongin."

Yixing paused and thought about it, realizing the truth to Jongdae's words. There had been something in Jongin which reminded him of himself right from day one. "He has a lot of potential," he said with a slight shrug. "Guess I just want him to do well, but not push himself too hard."

"It's good you care so much," Jongdae said, resting his chin on his hand. "I know some people around campus who care mostly for their own research and career more than who they're teaching and that was always off putting to me."

Yixing nodded. There were a couple of those in his department too, individuals who were there to use the university's resources to further their own career first and foremost. He and Baekhyun stayed clear of them.

It was nice to have someone acknowledge the effort Yixing put in. Sometimes when he told people why he's teaching dance and theater, because it wasn't really an option for himself anymore, he always got looks of pity. Just because this wasn't his original path didn't mean it was a lesser one.

They kept talking long after they finished eating, like usual. But this time, halfway through telling a story about Baekhyun's recurring issues with undergraduates developing awkward crushes on him, Yixing definitely felt Jongdae's foot rest against his underneath the table. Somehow, he only managed to stumble over his words once though he wasn't sure how coherent his story ended up especially as Jongdae's foot travelled higher up Yixing's calf.

"Sorry, are you playing footsie with me?"

Jongdae burst out laughing, hiding his mouth against his wrist. "Well, I'm trying to. Whether I'm succeeding I'm not really sure yet."

Yixing flushed at how incredibly not smooth he was in the face of Jongdae blatantly flirting with him, but Jongdae brushed it off like no big deal, standing and starting to clear the table. Yixing helped with that and with loading the dishwasher. The two of them lingered in the kitchen. Yixing passed on another beer, but watched Jongdae take one and drink it, perhaps fixating a little too much on Jongdae's lips around the opening of the bottle and the bob of his throat when he swallowed.

The quiet seemed dangerous and Yixing quickly focused his attention elsewhere, on the patterns of the kitchen's backsplash, the calendar hanging on the wall that was still showing last month's page. The gentle, but sudden touch against his waist made his efforts moot.

"Is your back better?" Jongdae set his drink down and the second touch was a little colder and Yixing barely breathed when Jongdae stepped all the way into his personal space, genuine concern obvious in the purse of Jongdae's lips and how his brows scrunched up. "To be honest, it seemed pretty bad the other day."

"It's fine. I'm fine." Yixing stared at the opposite wall. "Sometimes it just. Acts up like that."

Jongdae nodded and eased back, but Yixing didn't like that either. "If it happens again, I can come by. Though maybe you should go to a real physical therapist."

"No, you helped a lot," Yixing said. "I would've suffered a lot longer if you hadn't been there."

Jongdae seemed pleased with himself. "Well. You have my number."

Yixing glanced at the time on the microwave. It wasn't that late, certainly not for a Saturday night, but staying longer might increase the chances of him doing something he might not be ready for. He wanted that date first, at least. "Is Tuesday okay?" he said suddenly, shoving his hands into his pockets because he didn't know what else to do with them. "To go out."

Jongdae froze with the bottle midway to his mouth and the lull was enough to have Yixing backtracking.

"Wait, I'm sorry. You never said you wanted to."

Jongdae laughed. "I tried to play footsie with you earlier, you can safely assume I want to. You just caught me off guard."

"I'm really not good at this," Yixing said, covering his face briefly with both hands.

"You're great," Jongdae said and Yixing smiled at the reassurance. "Tuesday is also great."

"Okay. Tuesday, then."

"You can pick me up at 7," Jongdae said with a wink.

When Yixing left, he was already counting down the hours. But this time, there was none of that stress and worry, just the light, easy weight of looking forward to something good.

+

Yixing had regularly scheduled office hours, but he and Baekhyun kept their door open all the time for students to visit whenever they'd like. They encouraged students to come by so they could better learn about each person, why they were here pursuing a performance major, how they wanted to grow, what challenges they had in achieving that growth. But the most traffic was always in the 24 hours after the list went up for who made it to final auditions — some students always wanted to know why they didn't make it through and then there were the occasional individuals who did make the cut and began their campaign to butter Yixing up into giving them bigger parts. So he wasn't surprised when a figure lingered in the doorway, but he was surprised to find Chanyeol the one dropping by.

"Oh, hello," Yixing said, sending off an email to a student who had questions about that week's reading in one of his classes. "Baekhyun's teaching his afternoon class right now, but he should be back in fifteen minutes."

"Actually, I have a question for you, if that's okay," Chanyeol said, taking a seat at the end of Yixing desk. Yixing hadn't realized how tall Chanyeol was, having only seen him from fifty feet away on a stage. Even underneath the oversized hoodie Chanyeol was wearing, it was obvious how broad his shoulders were and his knees ended up much higher than his waist when he sat.

"I take it this is about the auditions then?"

Chanyeol smiled sheepishly. "Yeah. I mean, I wasn't really expecting to make it through since I've never done anything like that seriously. But I liked it, the acting and singing and all that, so I was wondering if you could give me some feedback for next time?"

Yixing was mildly impressed at Chanyeol's initiative. "Honestly, I thought a lot about whether to put your name on the list, so don't think you didn't do well. Your singing is quite good considering you probably never had formal training, but ultimately the musical has a lot of challenging dance numbers this year and I felt perhaps you'd struggle there. Also, Baekhyun lodged an informal complaint and said he absolutely needed you for the pit orchestra."

"So I should blame him," Chanyeol said, sitting up a little straighter after Yixing's compliment.

Yixing laughed. "I didn't say that exactly, but you're also not far off." He crossed his legs. "But I would love for you to try again in the spring. I usually select something completely different than the fall musical, so it's likely it won't be as dance intensive and you'd have a decent shot getting one of the chorus spots."

"Wow, thanks. I thought I'd show up and you'd list a hundred things I did wrong."

"Even if you had that much to improve on, I would never frame them as you did something wrong," Yixing said, surprised that Chanyeol spoke about himself with this kind of insecurity when he exuded confidence on stage and in the brief glimpses of him with his peers. "It's obvious you're quite talented when it comes to music. Baekhyun has even mentioned it to me before, so I'm glad you decided to try out and really happy you're here looking for how to improve when you're not even majoring in theater."

"Ah, I don't really know what to say to all that." Chanyeol messed up the back of his hair. "Just. Thanks."

"Anytime," Yixing said, shaking Chanyeol's hand before Chanyeol stood up and loomed over him. "You sure there's nothing you need to talk to Baekhyun about? He should be here in a few minutes."

Chanyeol shook his head, already a couple steps from the door when he seemed to remember something, though was hesitant to bring it up. "Actually, is it okay for me to ask who one of the other students is?"

"Depends. Which one and what about them?"

"The guy who auditioned toward the end, who did that contemporary dance and it kind of, looked like he was flying across the stage? I don't know, that sounds really corny."

Yixing smiled, knowing exactly who Chanyeol was referring to. "You must be talking about Jongin. He's another freshman, but as you saw, his dancing is quite impressive."

"He's majoring in dance?"

Yixing nodded. "He hasn't declared yet, but I'm pretty certain it's something he's considering."

"Thanks. I'm not trying to stalk him or anything. He was just. Really good."

"He's somewhere in the building right now. If you see him, you should let him know. You guys are a bit similar when it comes to perceiving your own capabilities."

Chanyeol gave a grin and a nod, then disappeared out of view with a little wave. Not thirty seconds later, Baekhyun entered the office.

"Did I just see Chanyeol leave here?"

"Yes, I'm stealing your students."

"Honestly, I expected this day to come." Baekhyun set down his lecture notes and massaged the back of his neck. "You can take more of them, you know. I am super happy to let you field questions about the midterm."

"No, thank you. I believe in sharing the wealth."

They shared a look and each let out exhausted laughter. "Drinks?" Baekhyun said, checking his watch. "Happy hour is for another 45 minutes."

Yixing held his hand out for Baekhyun to pull him up from the chair.

+

Never in his life had Yixing ever cared so much about his outfit than when Tuesday evening rolled around. He flung open his closet and stood there at a complete loss. Nothing seemed appropriate and Yixing tried to remember how he got through the first few months of dating his ex.

Eventually he settled on a pair of gray ankle slacks and a white button-up that he deemed passable. It was boring, but safe, and he finished off the look with a silver wristwatch and styled his hair up. It was a quarter to seven when he finished, just enough time for his nerves to take over.

Exiting a long-term relationship had him wondering if he even remembered how to date. The fact that he and Jongdae had already spent so much time together actually made it more difficult. Yixing fretted over what they'd talk about when they'd already gone through the steps of getting to know each other.

A knock at the door pulled him out of his thoughts. Whoever it was had incredibly bad timing and Yixing considered pretending he wasn't home, but the person knocked again. Yixing took a deep breath, ready to dismiss his visitor, but his mouth snapped shut the moment he swung the door open.

Jongdae stood in front of him, mildly startled by the aggressive force with which Yixing answered if the rise of his brows was any indication. "Hi," he said, giving a little wave. He was in a pair of black jeans and also a black t-shirt, but had a light denim jacket over it. The glasses he was wearing were the same thick black-rimmed ones from the day he moved in. He slid his hands into the pockets of his jacket and rocked back on his heels. "Wow. You look. Really good."

The back of Yixing's neck heated up. "You too," he said, taking in how artistically disheveled Jongdae's hair was. Never again would he believe in the stereotype that scientists were nerdy looking. "I thought you said to pick you up."

"I know," Jongdae said, grinning. "I got impatient."

That gave Yixing an unexpected boost of confidence, that Jongdae was looking forward to this enough that he couldn't wait another five minutes. "Give me a sec," he said, disappearing briefly to grab his keys off the kitchen counter. Jongdae paced back and forth lazily out in the hall while Yixing slipped his shoes on and locked the door. He met Jongdae's eyes and smiled nervously. "Shall we?"

"Let's go."

Yixing had spent hours last night perusing the internet for a restaurant, reading through at least two dozen menus and all the reviews and photos other people posted. The one he picked was a small tapas restaurant in a neighborhood near the river that ran through the middle of the city. They took a taxi and Yixing was grateful Jongdae filled the ten minute ride with a story about how he spent his entire morning lecture with his fly down.

"Honestly, kids these days are so inconsiderate," Jongdae said, sighing. "Just tell me you can see my Santa Claus underwear."

"Santa Claus?"

"Previous Christmas present from my aunt," Jongdae said. "There's no point in being picky when you're running out of clean clothes."

The restaurant was definitely geared toward couples on a night out. The lighting was dim and most of the tables were set up for two people. The server led them to a table toward the back and Yixing pretended like it was his first time seeing the menu when really he'd memorized the whole thing last night.

"Wow, I want almost everything," Jongdae said and Yixing almost offered to do just that before he realized Jongdae wasn't being serious.

They ordered a reasonable amount of dishes to share a bit later and Jongdae picked out some wine too. Yixing's worry about how the conversation would go was unfounded. They had plenty to talk about, Jongdae being naturally ebullient tonight just like all other nights. They agreed not to talk about work, but Yixing still made Jongdae talk about his research because that was different. He wanted to hear about the things Jongdae was passionate about and was all too content to sip his wine, letting it warm him, as Jongdae's eyes lit up talking about far off galaxies and how to define what life in space was when the only concept known was their own.

When most of the plates were empty, just scraps of garnish left over, Jongdae leaned his cheek on his hand and said, "Most people get overwhelmed when I talk about space like that."

"What do you mean?"

"When I get all philosophical and abstract and make people think about things they don't want to process. Like how space is ever expanding and that we don't really know what life is. It's scary to them."

Yixing smiled and spun his wine glass slowly. "I'm okay with that kind of stuff."

"What is scary to you then?"

Yixing hummed and mirrored Jongdae by tilting his head to the side. "Immensity."

"Space is immense."

"Space is out there," Yixing said, waving his hand vaguely in the air. "Immensity here is scary to me. The ocean. Caves. Supervolcanoes buried a hundred miles deep."

Jongdae nodded. "I get you."

"I wasn't like this when I was younger. It's interesting how the more we learn, the more fearful things seem. Isn't knowledge supposed to make things less scary?"

"Maybe when you think there's monsters living in your closet but you learn it's just shadows. Not when you learn that a supervolcano could erupt at any time and send the planet into a nuclear winter."

"What about you?" Yixing said, taking the bottle and emptying it between both their glasses. "What's scary to you?"

"I'm not sure I have anything," Jongdae said, looking upward as he considered the question. "Nothing big, at least. I do have an irrational fear of going up stairs that have gaps between each step. I always think I'm going to trip and slip through them and fall to my death."

"I can understand that," Yixing said.

"It's a bit silly."

Yixing shrugged. "No worse than any other fear."

"You're sweet for pretending like what I just told you isn't irrational."

Yixing blamed the blush on the wine instead of the way Jongdae smiled at him with the corners of his eyes crinkling. He pivoted the conversation elsewhere and they chatted until their glasses were empty and Yixing's focus drifted between Jongdae's lashes and the natural, playful curl of his lips. At the end of the evening, Jongdae stole the check before Yixing could even react.

"You can pick up the tab next time," Jongdae said and something warm and bright settled in Yixing's chest at the thought of this happening again.

The walk back to their building could have been taken out of any romantic comedy. Jongdae was talking but all Yixing could focus on was the proximity of Jongdae's hand to his, the struggle of whether or not to just reach out and take it. They arrived before Yixing could make up his mind.

At Yixing's door, they stop and Jongdae rocked back and forth on his heels. "I had a really good time," he said. Not just a good time, but a _really_ good time and Yixing might as well have just floated away in giddiness.

"Me too," Yixing said and then that awkward silence. "Well—"

"Can I—"

Yixing cleared his throat and gestured for Jongdae to speak.

But Jongdae didn't say anything right away. Instead he took one step closer to Yixing until they were almost touching and tilted his face up. "I just wanted to ask if this was okay?" he said, his soft breaths warm against Yixing's lips.

Yixing could only nod dumbly, even though his heart was going crazy in his chest. Even though his palms were suddenly sweaty and his mouth dry. He hoped none of that was obvious to Jongdae. He hoped he could even remember how to kiss.

There wasn't much of a chance to panic about it. Jongdae closed that last bit of distance and pressed their lips together and Yixing's thoughts went static. The warmth of Jongdae's hand on Yixing's waist had him bending down just enough and one kiss turned into two turned into Yixing cupping Jongdae's face because he didn't want it to end.

But they had to because they were still in the hallway and any of their other neighbors could appear at any time. Yixing couldn't bring himself to take his hands away though and his stomach swooped when he pulled back to see Jongdae's eyes still closed and a shy smile tugging at the corners of his mouth.

It was physically painful for Yixing to take a step back, but he took Jongdae's hand last second. "Right. Good night, I guess."

"Yeah. Good night." Jongdae moved in quick and kissed Yixing on the cheek and that had Yixing flushing way more than the kisses before.

Yixing stood in front of his half open door until Jongdae was unlocking his apartment, until Jongdae stepped in and waved and gestured with a fond eyeroll for Yixing to go in.

In the silence of his apartment, Yixing leaned against the door and covered his cheeks with both hands. His pulse was still doing double time and he couldn't get over just how euphoric and flustered he was. If he ever felt like this after any of his past dates, he couldn't remember it.

He showered and changed into pajamas, immediately face planting into bed. The urge to march down the hall and knock on Jongdae's door had quelled a bit. He rolled over and stared at the ceiling, replaying the evening until he fell asleep, lingering on the memory of Jongdae's lips soft against his.

+

Yixing did not mean to do it. He absolutely did not mean to walk into work the next day, set his bag down, and say: "I kissed him."

He wasn't sure why it came out like he was on the offensive, putting it out there before Baekhyun could needle him about it, but he never told Baekhyun about the date, so there was nothing to needle him over. But it was too late now. He'd already blurted it out and was now just standing there, hands on his hips, almost daring Baekhyun to challenge him and tell him he shouldn't have.

There was a long, drawn out moment where he and Baekhyun just stared at each other. Then Baekhyun crumpled up whatever paper he was looking at and pelted it at Yixing's chest.

"You asshole," Baekhyun said and pointed an accusing finger in Yixing's direction. "When? If it wasn't just now, then I'm pissed. I cannot believe you didn't tell me _immediately_ after it happened. What am I? Does our friendship mean nothing to you?"

Yixing's stare turned exasperated. "Baek—"

"If the next words out of your mouth isn't a complete, detailed breakdown of how you two ended up sucking face, then we're not on speaking terms."

Sighing, Yixing dropped into his chair, holding his hands out helplessly. "Lots of things happened last week."

"Just how many things have you not been telling me?"

Yixing didn't really know at this point, so he started from the night he and Jongdae almost kissed all the way through to yesterday evening. By the end, Baekhyun was sitting there with his hands over his mouth like he'd just received the most shocking news of his life. It was a bit dramatic even for Yixing. "You can dial back the shell shock. You're acting like I became possessed and went through a string of one night stands."

"You just gave me a lot to process, okay?" Baekhyun said and glanced at the time. "It's nine in the morning and you of all people make me want to get a drink. This might as well be an alternate reality."

"We only kissed."

" _Only kissed,_ " Baekhyun said, scoffing. "A month ago you were telling me to not get my hopes up about you dating. Less than six months ago you were engaged. This is clearly more than 'only kissing'."

Which Yixing couldn't argue against. He knew it too to some degree. When he lingered on it too much, these small tendrils of doubt always started to creep into the back of his mind about what he was doing, jumping from so high into a pool he couldn't see the bottom of without so much as a life vest. Was he just lonely? Was this a really bad rebound? He never thought of himself as the kind of person who'd make such a bad judgment call, but he also never thought someone would break off an engagement with him either.

"Am I being rash? Do you think I don't actually like him as much as I think I do? Am I just latching onto the nearest warm body?"

"You, my friend, do not have a single mean bone in you. Plus, I don't know if you realized, but you talked about how cute he looked last night for _at least_ a minute. Thirty seconds were dedicated just to his glasses. Trust me, you like the guy."

Yixing mulled on it. "Yeah," he said, completely helpless. "I really like him."

But the way Baekhyun looked at him now, undeniably proud, made Yixing think that maybe it wasn't a bad thing at all.

+

Rehearsals for the fall musical made it easy for Yixing to not spiral too hard about his new maybe relationship. Specifically, it distracted him from wondering if Jongdae thought it was a relationship and when they should have that talk. Since the first date, they've met up a couple more times, once at Yixing's place where they spent a solid hour just lounging on his couch, talking when they weren't kissing, kissing when they weren't talking. Toward the end of the night, Yixing started to think how it'd be nice to just come home and spend an entire evening cuddling like that, but that scared him so he immediately stamped out that thought as soon as it came.

The first two weeks were filled with standard introductions to the show. Running through the script, all the songs, allowing the cast to get to know each other. Jongin and two of his friends got cast in the chorus, but Yixing had already penciled in a small solo for Jongin in one of the all cast songs.

A slow ramp up to rehearsals didn't exist. Yixing's work life balance immediately went into the trash. Weekends were the only days Yixing had any time to himself and he spent them with Jongdae when he could. During the week though, most of their communication was through texts and Yixing felt a pang of guilt each time Jongdae mentioned how odd it was to have dinner by himself again so often. When they did see each other, Yixing would apologize profusely and Jongdae would wave him off with a reassuring smile.

"Stop apologizing when you're just doing your job training the future stars of Broadway," Jongdae said a few weeks in. They'd gotten comfortable enough with each other that Jongdae stopped bothering with presentation and just stayed in his pajamas when Yixing came by on weekends. Today he was in an old t-shirt and red flannel pajama bottoms that were a little too long and the legs puddled around his feet. Yixing knew the t-shirt was old because the collar was a bit frayed, but also because it had a cartoon of the solar system on it and Pluto was still included as a planet. The whole thing made Jongdae look incredibly soft and cozy and Yixing didn't even attempt to resist cuddling him on the floor of Jongdae's living room while they recovered from stuffing their stomachs to the brim with pancakes.

"A college musical is about eight rungs below Broadway level."

"I'm going to tell your students you said that about them."

Yixing snorted and pinched Jongdae's side gently. "I don't mean them, I meant my qualifications."

"I hope you're not insinuating that you're not good enough to mentor Broadway level talent because I would get really upset if you were."

"You don't have to think I'm the best just because we're—" Yixing stopped there, not knowing how to finish that sentence. Jongdae craned his neck back to look at him curiously, but expectant. Yixing cleared his throat, but his mind stayed blank.

Jongdae sat up and grinned at Yixing. "We've been naked together, but you get shy now of all times?"

They _had_ been naked together. A few times now. Yixing had been a nervous wreck the very first time, not knowing where to put his hands or even where to look, but Jongdae had taken charge and fixed that. This was a different nervous, though.

"Are we something?"

"I should hope so." Jongdae played with Yixing's hair, twirling it between his fingers. "I don't get naked with people a lot and I'm not interested in getting naked with anyone else but you."

It was an odd way for Jongdae to declare his monogamy but it left Yixing smiling shyly all the same. "I feel the same," he managed to say, then sighed as he patted overhead for Jongdae's hand. "Baekhyun's going to completely overreact when he finds out."

Jongdae laughed and moved to brace himself over Yixing's body. His hands pressed Yixing's into the carpet. "When do I get to meet Baekhyun? He already knows so much about me."

"You have no idea the gravity of what you're asking."

"I can take him." Jongdae's glasses slipped a little and Yixing wrestled one hand free to slide them off completely, setting them in a safe spot on the coffee table. With Jongdae's face bare, Yixing could see how long Jongdae's lashes were and how pretty they made his eyes. " _'Hi, Yixing's officemate, I'm Yixing's boyfriend.'_ "

Yixing swallowed past the the tightening in his chest. "Wow, he's going to hate being demoted to a mere officemate."

Jongdae grinned. "How does he want to be addressed? I want his approval."

Yixing snuck his hand under Jongdae's shirt to stroke his stomach absently, smiling when Jongdae tensed up a little. "Is my approval not sufficient?"

"More than sufficient," Jongdae said and his mouth was getting closer and closer to Yixing's. Then it just stayed there, hovering an inch away.

Yixing huffed. "Fine, I'll introduce you," he said, grabbing the front of Jongdae's shirt. Jupiter crumpled under his palm. "Now kiss me."

Jongdae did exactly that, tasting faintly of bananas and maple syrup, and Yixing hoped for time to pass a little slower this weekend.

+

That Wednesday, there was an hour gap in the early afternoon when Yixing and Baekhyun were both in the office and Jongdae didn't have a lecture. Yixing had forgotten he'd told Jongdae to come by until there was a knock on the door and Yixing looked up to see Jongdae's face peeking into the doorway. It was becoming chillier outside with each passing day as they sunk deeper into autumn and Jongdae sported a maroon sweater vest over a white button up. He even had a polka dotted bow tie on.

"Oh my god, are you the boyfriend?" Baekhyun said, getting up before Yixing could even react and going over to pull Jongdae across the threshold. "Yixing told me you taught astronomy, but wow."

Jongdae stuck his hand out and introduced himself. "Sorry, what do you mean by 'wow'?"

"You are the cutest little nerdy professor boyfriend I've ever seen."

"Baekhyun," Yixing said, sighing, but there was hardly any weight behind it. He smiled at Jongdae and was only a little caught off guard when Jongdae leaned down to hug him and kiss his cheek in greeting.

Behind his desk, Baekhyun looked verklempt.

"Are you regretting it yet?" Yixing said, knowing Jongdae would understand he was referring to meeting Baekhyun.

Jongdae laughed, easygoing. "No, this is great." He looked between Yixing and Baekhyun. "I guess you guys have eaten?"

"You haven't?" Yixing said, glancing at his phone. "It's almost two."

"My TAs had a bunch of questions about how they needed to grade the exams and then I lost track of time."

"We ate pretty early," Baekhyun said, already grabbing his coat. "Come on, Yixing's nerdy professor boyfriend, it's time for my second lunch."

"You're not a hobbit," Yixing said.

Baekhyun gasped dramatically while Jongdae laughed. "It's that a short joke? Just because you have those two extra inches. I'm filing a complaint with HR. Jongdae, do you put up with this?"

Jongdae fell into step with Baekhyun and walked backwards for a bit, grinning. "I didn't know Yixing had these kinds of thoughts."

_'Wow,'_ Yixing mouthed at Jongdae, shaking his head in faux disbelief. Really, he was happy Jongdae and Baekhyun seemed to hit it off immediately. "You know what?" he said out loud. " _I_ regret this."

"Sounds like something someone with tasteless short jokes deserves," Baekhyun said over his shoulder before looping his arm with Jongdae's.

They ended up at a cafe on the edge of campus, the crowd in mid-afternoon mostly students working on essays or reading, half empty coffee and lattes dotting the tables. They grabbed the last empty booth in the corner, Yixing sliding in next to Jongdae and they naturally held hands under the table. Yixing pretended he didn't see Baekhyun's ecstatic grin and acted engrossed with the menu.

Baekhyun really did order a second lunch while Yixing just opted for an iced tea. In between Baekhyun's million questions to Jongdae about some things even Yixing hadn't broached yet, Yixing stole a few fries off Jongdae's plate. Toward the end, Jongdae started to hold them up to Yixing's mouth, feeding him. It felt natural, effortless, and Yixing didn't even mind anymore that Baekhyun was constantly two seconds away from cooing at them.

"You two are almost cuter than Chanyeol and Jongin."

Yixing blinked. "What?"

Baekhyun's sandwich froze halfway to his mouth. "I mean, they're kids. Of course they're gonna be the cuter couple. First love, yada yada."

Yixing shook his head. "Jongin is dating Chanyeol?"

"You didn't know? I can barely get that lovesick smile off Chanyeol's face long enough to get him to focus on class so he doesn't fail."

"Since when?"

Baekhyun took a giant bite of his sandwich and stuffed in a fry too, staring thoughtfully at the ceiling as he chewed. "Around when rehearsals started? You really didn't notice something different with Jongin?"

Now that Yixing thought back on it, Jongin had been acting out of character for a few weeks now, but Yixing had chalked that up to the musical finally giving Jongin a reason to come out of his shell. He'd started interacting a lot more with others in the class and Yixing had even overheard him making plans to meet up after classes.

"I thought he was just making more friends."

"Oh yeah, he's _definitely_ making friends."

Yixing rolled his eyes. He wondered if this was why Chanyeol asked him about Jongin that one time. "Well, good for them."

"Jongin's the one you have a soft spot for?" Jongdae said. He had some sauce on the corner of his mouth and Yixing reached over with a napkin to clean it off. There was a flicker of surprise in Jongdae's eyes and Yixing cleared his throat, clasping his hands together on the table.

"The one I told you about, yes," Yixing said, staring at his hands. Sadly, he could still see Baekhyun's grin in his peripheral.

"That's good," Jongdae said, slipping his arm behind Yixing's back. "You were worried he'd focus too much on being a perfectionist. Now maybe he'll be distracted."

"Yeah, he'll be too busy making out to practice," Baekhyun said.

"You know what, let's stop talking about our students' dating lives."

Baekhyun shrugged. "They're going to be unbearable when we start doing combined rehearsals."

"I'll let you handle them," Yixing said. Jongdae's arm hadn't moved and Yixing finally relaxed into it, leaning back. He tried to recall if he and his ex had ever been this comfortable showing affection in front of others, but quickly stopped that train of thought. It seemed wrong to compare Jongdae to her.

Baekhyun raised his arms overhead and groaned. "As much as I'd like to watch you two also do your best at being cute, I've got a class to teach in 20." Yixing scratched a nonexistent itch on his cheek, pretending he didn't hear, but Jongdae laughed and squeezed Yixing's side like he was proud of their behavior.

On the walk back, Baekhyun gripped Yixing's shoulder and said, "You know what's back on?"

Yixing did, but shrugged and shoved his hands into his pockets.

"Ugh, stop acting. Double dates! Taeyeon was just saying the other night how she hasn't seen you in forever." Baekhyun peered around Yixing to make eye contact with Jongdae. "You're coming over, both of you."

Before Yixing could say anything, Jongdae piped up with, "Sure, sounds fun."

Baekhyun pumped a fist in the air and ran ahead to make his class, yelling behind him that he'd let Yixing know which night to come by.

"I can't believe you're enabling him so easily," Yixing said, slipping the hand closest to Jongdae back out, letting it hang between them. Jongdae, ever so observant, took it immediately in his and even linked their fingers.

"Hey, we shorties gotta stick together."

Yixing had to laugh a little at that. He glanced at his watch. "You still have some time, right?" he said, and Jongdae nodded. "Can I buy you a coffee then?"

Jongdae knocked their shoulders together. "You keep this up and I'll let you make all the short jokes you want at Baekhyun."

Maybe a double date wouldn't be so bad after all.

+

Just as Baekhyun said, much to the Yixing's chagrin, combined rehearsals with the cast and pit orchestra was interesting to say the least. Entertaining. Maybe even endearing.

More than a few times, Yixing would look over after giving the main cast direction on a scene and find Jongin crouched at the edge of the stage, peering down at where Chanyeol was situated. Baekhyun really did end up being the one to deal with them, shooing Jongin away nicely when they needed Chanyeol on the piano.

At one point, while waiting for the sound tech to set up everyone's mics, Yixing witnessed Jongin hanging onto his friends and telling them, "Chanyeol's in the pit!" while sporting a lovesick grin. His friends didn't look too ecstatic about the news, especially since it seemed Jongin shared that exact piece of information often, but Yixing found it pretty adorable, glad that Jongin was at ease.

One afternoon, Yixing had to call Jongin's name three times to steal his attention away from watching Chanyeol rehearse the opening number, his hands flying over the keys with graceful ease. Jongin seemed embarrassed, but Yixing slapped him on the back goodnaturedly and reminded him that the faster they got through rehearsal, the sooner he and Chanyeol could get out of there.

Being around those two made being away from Jongdae harder for Yixing. Which was ridiculous. They lived literally three doors down from each other and Jongdae was always awake when Yixing texted after he left campus, happy for Yixing to stop by or to meet Yixing in the hall. It hadn't even been two months since their first date, but Yixing would be lying if said he hadn't been considering just giving Jongdae a key to his place. It was good to give someone a backup anyway in case he ever locked himself out.

It was almost eleven at night when Yixing finally got home. Full dress rehearsals started next week, so his days were only going to get longer. He was starving; the only thing he ate had been two donuts in the morning and the rest of the day he'd been subsisting on coffee. All he had in his pantry was some ramen, but it would have to do. When he rounded the corner, there was a familiar figure waiting by his apartment.

"What are you doing here?" Yixing said as he got closer. Jongdae already looked ready for bed in a pair of sweats and a t-shirt for some band Yixing didn't recognize. "Told you not to wait up tonight."

Jongdae shrugged and lifted the bag he was holding, which Yixing just noticed. "Got tacos from that place you like. You haven't eaten anything all day, have you?"

Right on cue, Yixing's stomach complained. He was so grateful he could've kissed Jongdae. So he did. "You're amazing," he said, hugging Jongdae close and pressing their lips together softly.

"Yeah, I'm pretty great." Jongdae nudged Yixing's side. "Now let us in so you can actually eat."

They curled up on his couch, Jongdae with his legs in Yixing's lap. The TV was on, but the volume was barely turned up. Instead, Yixing ate and listened to Jongdae talk about his day, recollecting asinine questions he got from the brown-nosing, but arrogant students who liked to sit in the front row.

"I mean, can you imagine? The _implication_ that this little shit knew more than Stephen Hawking? In what universe!"

Yixing laughed and fed Jongdae the last bite of the taco he was holding. "Certainly not this one."

"Luckily, most of the class also wanted to murder him, but wow my patience was really tested today."

Yixing wiped his hands clean and sat back, propping his head against his palm while he rubbed Jongdae's ankle. "What are you like angry?"

"Very sexy," Jongdae said with a smirk and Yixing rolled his eyes. "What do you think I'd be like?"

Yixing thought about it for a few moments. "Similar to me. Blunt and direct. Quiet to make it scarier because you're usually loud."

Jongdae laughed, head thrown back. When he righted himself again, he seemed impressed. "You're pretty close. A lot of people think I'm upset when I raise my voice."

"You're not upset, you're just whining to get what you want."

"That's slander and I will not stand for it."

Yixing pressed his face into Jongdae's shoulder, sliding his hand up Jongdae's leg to wrap around his waist instead. "You should stay here tonight."

Jongdae hummed. "It is a very long walk back to my place. A whole 15 seconds."

Yixing nodded. "It's dangerous out there this time of night. Lots can happen."

"All right, you've convinced me," Jongdae sighed dramatically. Yixing smiled and pressed a kiss to Jongdae's neck. He smelled like shampoo and his skin was soft and Yixing knew if he didn't move he'd fall asleep right there. It seemed Jongdae did too, nudging Yixing gently. "Go wash up. I'll clear everything."

In his exhaustion, Yixing couldn't even refuse out of politeness. He let out a disappointed sigh when Jongdae stood and started cleaning up, reaching weakly for Jongdae's hand. He kept watching for a moment, then forced himself off the couch and headed to his room to change for bed. By the time he got out of the bathroom, Jongdae was lying on his bed reading something on his phone.

The domesticity of the moment, of the past hour, hit Yixing suddenly and he didn't quite know how to process it. When Jongdae noticed him just standing there, he pulled the covers back and patted the mattress.

"What are you doing? Get in. How are you still even upright?"

Yixing shuffled over and collapsed into bed with a sigh. Jongdae got under the covers too and Yixing immediately pulled him close, resting his head on Jongdae's shoulder. Sleep was already threatening to pull him under and he barely got out a slurred "good night" before succumbing.

The last thing he registered was a gentle hand brushing through his hair.

+

It was easy to forget how chaotic the two weeks leading up to opening night were. Each time Yixing did this, he swore he'd never go through the stress again, but every semester he found himself back here, running through the show end to end late into the evening and having to deal with students increasingly cranky from exhaustion. But he was always good about reminding them why they were here and how the long hours were going to pay off when they finally got to share what they've created with the public.

It was day three of dress rehearsals. Yixing had given the kids a fifteen minute break and pulled out his phone to text Jongdae and gripe a little about how one of his leads was being dramatic about the costumes. That all got sidetracked when he saw he had a missed call and text from his ex-fiance, the message only saying, _'call me'_.

Yixing stared at the two simple words for a solid minute. He hadn't spoken to her since she came to the apartment months ago to pick up the rest of her things and he couldn't think of any reason why she'd suddenly reach out to him like this. His imagination got the best of him, coming up with terrible scenarios and his fingers were unsteady as he tapped her name to call her.

The line rang twice before connecting.

_"Yixing. You called."_

Her voice was soft and warm, a bit relieved even if Yixing was reading it right. He sat down in one of the back rows, ducking his head as if someone was going to sneak up on him at any moment and eavesdrop. "Are you all right?"

_"Hm? Oh. Yes, everything's good. I was just wondering — are you free for lunch this week?"_

+

Baekhyun was sitting on the edge of the stage, legs swinging back and forth. He punched Yixing's shoulder lightly once with reach.

"What's with that dazed look? Were you chatting with Jongdae?" Baekhyun waggled his brows to insinuate their conversation had been less than innocent.

Yixing blinked like he suddenly remembered where he was. "What? No, it was." He stopped, processing what Baekhyun had said. Jongdae. That explained the heavy pit which had settled in his stomach the moment he hung up. He'd been given no context around lunch. She just wanted to talk, she'd said and Yixing accepted that. But he'd felt uneasy and didn't know why, but it definitely had something to do with Jongdae. "It was just my mom."

"Is something the matter? You don't look great."

It was probably the lying, for one. Yixing didn't know why he couldn't just tell Baekhyun who he really was on the phone with. Did he think Baekhyun would be disappointed in him?

He spent the rest of rehearsals distracted, feeling both guilty and anxious about what his ex wanted to tell him. If the students noticed, they didn't say anything and Yixing was relieved to dismiss them all at the end of the night.

_'Come by if you're not too tired'_ , Jongdae sent him right as he left campus. He was though, the most exhausted he'd been in weeks, but somehow that made him want to see Jongdae more.

Yixing stopped by his apartment first and took a shower, changing into pajamas after. He headed to Jongdae's just like that, hair damp and half asleep. The moment the door opened, Yixing couldn't help it and stumbled forward, pulling Jongdae into a hug though it was mostly him leaning almost all his weight against the other.

"Why, hello to you too." Jongdae kicked the door closed and pulled back just enough to get a good look at Yixing. "You look dead. I told you to come by only if you weren't tired."

"I wanted to see you," Yixing said.

Jongdae sighed, fond. "Come on," he said, taking Yixing's hand to lead him down the hall.

It was as if Yixing had never slept in a real bed before. He crawled into Jongdae's and curled up in the sheets and pressed his face into the pillow, sighing. Briefly, he reminded himself he came here to spend time with Jongdae, to ask about his day, and if he wanted to do that he needed to stay awake. But Jongdae was tucking him in properly and stroking his hair again and Yixing's mind went fuzzy.

Guilt still lingered in him. He couldn't tell Baekhyun about the call and now the words were stuck in his throat again. It wasn't a big deal. It should've been easy to just say his ex asked to have lunch and he didn't see any reason to say no. He hadn't hidden her existence from Jongdae before, so why start now?

But Jongdae's touch was like a lullaby and it was so hard to open his eyes again. In the morning. He'd tell Jongdae in the morning.

+

In the morning, Jongdae was already gone. There was an apologetic note in the kitchen about how he had scheduled extra office hours this week. Next to it was a fresh pot of coffee and a clean mug set out on the counter.

Yixing made Jongdae's bed and washed the few dishes left in the sink. He grabbed the spare key Jongdae left for him too and locked up when he left, hesitating for a moment before taking the key with him instead of slipping it under the welcome mat. It would be too easy for a stranger to look there and break in, Yixing reasoned.

It was a whole day of missed connections. When Yixing texted to see if Jongdae was free for lunch, there was no response until two hours later when Yixing had already grabbed something with Baekhyun. Then their class schedule conflicted and then Yixing was going straight to rehearsals again, looking down the barrel of another five, six hours locked up in the theater. Jongdae offered to stop by with food and Yixing was tempted, but the theater building was in the opposite direction of their apartment and Yixing didn't want to inconvenience him.

The lunch with his ex was the next day. He spent the entire morning jittery, to the point where Baekhyun asked him multiple times if he was okay and even his 10am lecture wondered if he was coming down with something. Right as the class was filing out, Yixing's phone buzzed in his pocket multiple times. When he took it out to see that he had texts from both his ex and Jongdae, his palms went clammy. The one from his ex was to let him know what cafe nearby to meet her at, but Jongdae's was saying he had an hour free up and if Yixing wanted to grab something to eat since they weren't able to see each other yesterday.

While he was still staring at the message, his phone lit up with Jongdae calling him.

"Hey."

"Hi!" Jongdae's voice was bright as usual and Yixing could picture the easy smile on his face. "I just texted you, but I didn't know if you'd see it, so I figured I'd call too so I didn't miss you. My noon appointment cancelled, so do you want to get lunch?"

Yixing didn't know why he did it, but the words were out before he could stop them. "I'm really sorry. I have to go meet with set design for some last minute changes."

The disappointment in Jongdae's voice came out in a whine. "Do you absolutely _have_ to?"

"Yeah, the show opens next weekend and they need my decisions today so they have enough time to do the work." Yixing couldn't believe how easily the lies were falling from his lips. "Tomorrow, though. I'll clear my whole schedule for you."

Jongdae laughed. "You don't have to be that extreme. I'll come over tonight."

"Yeah. That'd be nice. I'll try not to fall asleep on you within five minutes again."

"It's okay," Jongdae said, quieter, gentle. "You're cute when you're asleep."

The urge to tell Jongdae the truth spiked, but Yixing bit his lip until it passed. "I'll see you later, then."

"Bye, boyfriend."

The line disconnected and Yixing held his head in his hands, leaning against the podium. He stayed like that, skin prickling with stress until students began trickling in for the next class, momentarily confused at his presence since it wasn't his course. It made him realize what time it was and that he needed to leave now if he was to arrive at the cafe in time. He shoved his laptop and notes into his bag and rushed out, just wanting to get this whole thing over with.

+

The first time Yixing met Victoria they were in middle school. Her parents had recently joined his parents' circle of friends which meant that every major holiday someone would host a big party and all the kids were forced to socialize. Even during their school years, Yixing had recognized she was pretty, but she was still a family friend's daughter and that's where the interest ended.

During college, Yixing didn't always go back home during holidays. When he did, he claimed he was too old to be going to those parties and his parents didn't care enough anymore to force him along. It wasn't until after he'd graduated and it was his parents' turn again to host that he and Victoria met again. By then, they hadn't seen each other for five years and lots had changed when so many years pass. He had just joined a national dance company last year and she just accepted a junior associate position at a well-known law firm. They left the party and headed to a diner instead. It had been New Year's Eve so the staff was bare bones and bitter over working a holiday. The other patrons were mostly solo diners, one family in the corner with three rowdy kids and the parents already looking exhausted. They sat in a booth in the back and shared two slices of cold pie and sipped on lukewarm burnt coffee.

They spent hours there and celebrated the new year with the muted countdown show playing on the corner TV. Yixing discovered that out of all the things they had in common, the strongest was their ambition and perseverance and he somehow didn't find that a lot in people. In the car on the way back, Yixing asked if she wanted to have dinner the next week and it went from there.

The cafe Victoria picked was close to campus, but on one of the quieter borders away from most of the buildings. Students didn't come here often and only half the tables were full despite it being peak lunch hour. Yixing spotted her easily. It had only been a few months, so it was silly to think that she'd look any different. She was at a table in the corner and already had a drink in front of her, people watching outside the window. Her hair was down and reached the middle of her back, not a strand out of place.

She noticed Yixing when he got within a few feet and a gentle smile appeared on her face as she stood up to give him a hug.

"You made it," she said, her hand lingering on Yixing's arm. "Thanks for coming."

They sat down and Yixing ordered a salad even though he despised them, but it was the first thing he saw on the menu. He had no appetite anyway. "No reason not to."

They made small talk for a bit even though Yixing just wanted her to get to the reason why she asked him here. His shoulders were tense with anxiety. Eventually, she took a sip of her wine and was quiet for a moment, looking out the window again.

"I've been feeling guilty," she said, turning back to him. "About how things happened. Ended. I don't know why I'm feeling this way now when it's been, god, half a year?"

"That's why you wanted to meet?"

Victoria nodded. "I know we didn't break up on bad terms, but it wasn't good either, I don't think."

This wasn't what Yixing expected and he still wasn't clear what her goal was. "I haven't been blaming you."

She smiled. "I know. You're too nice of a person to do that." She sighed. "I don't really know why I suddenly have been feeling this way. I finally made partner last month, what I've been working toward all these years and I guess now that I have a break, no more lofty goals — at least none in the near future — I've just been thinking a lot about everything. Us, especially."

Yixing swallowed and bounced his leg under the table. "Sorry, are you…? Do you want to get back together?"

Victoria's eyes widened for a second before she laughed quietly and shook her head. "I did for a moment," she said, fingers tracing the base of her glass. "A couple weeks ago when I was having an existential crisis about where my life was going and what I wanted. But no."

That was a relief, but not by much. Yixing picked up his fork, but did nothing with it. Victoria propped her chin on her hand.

"I still talk to Taeyeon sometimes, you know. Even if I wanted to get back together, she let slip the other day that you've moved on already." She was smiling, but Yixing still fidgeted a little in his seat.

"Yeah. I — yeah." The reminder that Yixing lied to Jongdae about coming here popped up fresh in his mind. "It's only been a few months."

"What's she like?"

Yixing had never told Victoria about his sexuality. It didn't seem relevant when they reconnected after college and the longer they dated, the lower it got on Yixing's list of priorities. He took a sip of water, but his throat still felt dry after.

"He, actually," Yixing said quietly, mixing his salad around but still not actually eating it. "His name is Jongdae and he teaches at the university too."

Victoria didn't say anything and Yixing forced himself to look up. He wasn't ashamed and even if this entire lunch stressed him out, he was more than willing to defend his new relationship and get angry at any insinuation that it wasn't normal. He caught the end of Victoria's surprise before her expression relaxed again.

"You like him a lot?" Victoria said, smiling as she took another sip of her wine. "You looked pretty adorable there for a second when you thought I was going to be a bigot about it."

"Oh my god." Just like that, Yixing became flustered and covered his face, even laughing a little to cover up his embarrassment at being teased. Victoria had always been too good at ruining his composure.

"I can't say my ego isn't a little bruised that you're dating again already," Victoria said with a sigh. "But I'm happy you've found someone else."

"Did you think you broke me when you left?"

Victoria groaned, her turn to be caught off guard. "When you put it like that, it makes me sound so self-absorbed. I just know you weren't expecting it and breaking off engagements is different. I want you to know I'm sorry for how I handled it. My mind was set, but I should have talked to you about it like a real adult instead of dropping a bomb on your lap the way I did."

"Well, I forgive you," Yixing said and he meant it. He recognized what she did was for the best for both of them and he wasn't going to hold how she handled things against her. He didn't think they would go back to being friends after this and his gut said she felt the same way, but it was inevitable that they'd run into each other again. Maybe in another five years it'd be a different story.

They chatted for a little longer about how she was settling into her new role and Yixing gave a few more details about Jongdae, specifically how they met and he ungracefully waved off her comment about how they're practically living together already.

Soon, she had to head back to the office and Yixing was actually a bit sad to see her go. She forced a bunch of bills into his hand, way more than was needed to cover lunch, but wouldn't take no for an answer.

"I'm a fancy lawyer and you're making a teacher's salary," Victoria said, her tone making it clear she was just teasing. "Just take my charity."

Yixing relented with a sigh. "It was nice seeing you," he said, standing up to give her a hug. "You really stressed me out when you contacted me out of the blue like that."

Victoria laughed. "I figured, but I didn't really know how to word what I wanted to talk to you about. Anyway, take care, okay?" She leaned in and pecked Yixing on the lips. "Shit, sorry. Habit. Okay, I really do have to run. Bye!"

Yixing smiled to himself watching her take off, but also suddenly realized how hungry he was. He hadn't taken a single bite of his food and even though his stomach was grumbling, the limp pieces of lettuce didn't look any more appetizing. He flagged down the server and asked for a burger instead, assuring there was nothing wrong with his food, he just changed his mind.

Now that the whole thing was over, Yixing felt ridiculous that he stressed out so much about it. Even worse, that he didn't just tell Jongdae or Baekhyun it was happening. Even if Victoria had wanted to get back together, Yixing's answer would have been an immediate no. He wouldn't have even considered it, not for a second. He'd tell them today when he saw Baekhyun at rehearsals and Jongdae when he got home. He was nervous about how Jongdae would react, but not coming clean would be worse.

+

As expected, Baekhyun was not happy.

"I can't believe you didn't just tell me," Baekhyun said, punching Yixing's arm for the third time. It was actually starting to hurt. "What did you think I was going to do?"

"I don't know." Yixing widened the space between them. Some students were starting to venture out on stage, milling about and chatting with each other as they waited for rehearsals to start. "I panicked. She hadn't talked to me since she moved out and suddenly she wanted to meet for lunch."

"So what did she want? Tell me she didn't ask you to get back together."

Yixing waved his hands and shook his head. "No. I think she just wanted proper closure. She felt bad for how she handled the breakup and wanted to apologize."

Baekhyun pursed his lips together. "If you didn't tell me, then I assume you definitely didn't tell Jongdae."

Yixing winced and rubbed the back of his neck. "That isn't an incorrect statement."

"Come on," Baekhyun sighed. "I'm supposed to be the one who makes bad decisions. You're the responsible friend."

"I'm telling him when I get home," Yixing said, biting his lip. "I think he'll be more mad that I lied than the fact that I had lunch with Victoria."

"Well, however he reacts, you deserve it."

Yixing couldn't really argue with that. Most of the cast was on stage already and Baekhyun disappeared into the pit to run warm ups with the orchestra. Jongin was at the edge of the stage again, crouched down so he could reach for Chanyeol's hand when the latter walked by underneath to get to the piano. They were sickly sweet, but in a soft, understated way that Yixing didn't mind seeing. He took his phone out and texted Jongdae that he'd probably be home around eleven.

"Okay, guys, let's go," Yixing called out to the cast, clapping his hands. "Let's see if we can get out early tonight."

+

There still wasn't a reply from Jongdae when Yixing made it home, which was a little odd. He sent off another text asking if Jongdae was still awake, then went to change out of his clothes. Half an hour later, Jongdae finally responded to say that he had last minute stuff he needed to prepare for finals that he forgot about and couldn't make it over. Yixing was tempted to ask Jongdae if he could stop by anyway, just wanting to come clean about where he really was earlier. But Jongdae was the one constantly accommodating for his schedule, so he figured the least he could do was leave Jongdae to his work this one time.

_Okay, no worries. Lunch tomorrow then?_

_Yeah, of course._

But the next day when Yixing asked when Jongdae wanted to meet, Jongdae was busy again. Then he was too tired to see Yixing after a long day. It went on for days and Yixing was wondering if he should just go to Jongdae's unannounced, but he didn't know if that was a boundary he was allowed to overstep. A couple of mornings he lingered in the hallway hoping to catch Jongdae on the way out, but he never appeared and Yixing had to leave before he was late for his morning course. With opening night of the musical just a few days away, things got even more hectic there and Yixing couldn't find a single free moment to go track Jongdae down in the Physics building.

"I think Jongdae is avoiding me," Yixing told Baekhyun after a full week had gone by without seeing Jongdae. "I didn't know you could avoid someone this well when you live down the hall from each other, but he's doing a really good job."

"It is finals week soon," Baekhyun said, but it didn't sound too convincing. "He really could be super busy."

Yixing rubbed his hands over his face. "I'm worried. This isn't like him. Does he want to break up? He seemed fine last week."

"Hey, stop." Baekhyun placed his hands on Yixing's shoulders. "I'm sure it's fine. Maybe this is just how he deals with stress. You haven't known him long enough to say whether or not this is normal."

"Maybe," Yixing said, but he knew it wasn't. Not Jongdae who stayed up for him no matter how tired he was even if it was just to spend those last ten minutes of the day together. Who grew the magical ability to know when Yixing rushed through the day without eating and would wait outside his door with late night dinner. Something happened that made Jongdae not want to spend time with him and Yixing hated the dark tendril which bloomed in the back of his head suggesting that Jongdae no longer wanted anything to do with him.

Still, he kept trying. He told Jongdae to come by whenever he'd like, that he'd leave a key under the doormat for him. But Jongdae never did.

On opening night of the musical, Yixing left a ticket at will call for Jongdae and let him know in case he was still interested in seeing the show. By then, his texts with Jongdae was just a wall of messages from him with no indication that Jongdae had even seen them. He couldn't afford to think about it much after that. He had to make sure the students were ready and everyone's mics were working and no one had left their fly accidentally undone. They had worked hard the past couple months to put this show together and the least Yixing could do was give them his undivided attention.

But just before intermission, Yixing couldn't help but peek out into the audience and notice that the seat Jongdae should've been in was empty.

The show went off without a hitch. Yixing was proud of everyone and laughed when Jongin bounded up to him, sweaty and still in five layers of stage makeup, and gave him a hug. He knew how anxious Jongin had been the past couple of weeks wanting to do well with his solo. But he had been flawless out there and the audience had noticed.

Out in the lobby, Yixing went around congratulating the students. At some point he heard Chanyeol's distinct voice yell out Jongin's name and smiled to himself. He knew part of the reason why Jongin hadn't let the worry get to his head was because Chanyeol was always there to make sure he knew how talented he was. Yixing was as grateful for Chanyeol as Jongin probably was.

As Yixing made his way through everyone, he couldn't help but keep an eye out just in case Jongdae did show up. But as the crowd thinned out, it was clear that Jongdae was never there. Yixing ducked into a quiet spot away from those still lingering about and dialed Jongdae's number.

It rang and rang and eventually he got routed to Jongdae's voicemail. Yixing sighed and hung up, leaning against the wall. He couldn't deal with this anymore. Boundaries or no, he was going to see Jongdae tonight even if he had to camp outside his door. He jogged back to the theater and grabbed his things from backstage. On the way out, he rushed past Baekhyun who called after him, but Yixing was already halfway out the door.

+

The sound of some TV show filtered through Jongdae's door when Yixing got there. He debated sending Jongdae a text to say he was outside, but didn't want to risk Jongdae not opening up. He knocked and was a little surprised to hear Jongdae's voice call from inside, "Just a sec!"

When the door swung open, it was immediately clear that Jongdae was not expecting Yixing to be on the other side of it. He had a few bills in his hand and Yixing looked behind him to see a delivery guy headed in their direction. Yixing stood there awkwardly as Jongdae took the food and handed over the cash. If the delivery man thought they were being weird, he didn't say anything about it, presumably just wanting to leave.

"Um, can I come in?" Yixing said once they were alone again. Jongdae didn't look like he wanted to, but he stepped aside to allow Yixing past.

Jongdae set his food down on the dining table and filled up two glasses of water while Yixing took a seat on the couch. He set one glass on the coffee table and perched himself on the armrest instead of taking the spot next to Yixing.

"You've been avoiding me," Yixing said, seeing no reason to be vague about it.

Jongdae bit his lip. "You didn't meet with the set design last week."

Yixing braced his arms on his knees and covered his face. He couldn't believe he didn't figure it out earlier. The timing couldn't have been more obvious. "You saw us."

"I get lunch there sometimes. It's less crowded."

Yixing sat up and turned toward Jongdae. "I wanted to come over that night to tell you." Jongdae picked at a loose thread on the sofa. His shoulders were hunched and he looked small, lacking all of his usual energy. It was a bit startling to see and made Yixing's insides twist up in a bad way. "Were you too upset to want to see me this whole time?"

Jongdae stared at the floor. "If I was angry, I'd confront you about it. You know that."

"If you weren't angry, then?"

It took a few moments for Jongdae to speak, like he needed to gather physical energy to say the words. "I didn't want to see you and hear you say that you want this to end. If I didn't see you, then it wouldn't have to happen."

Now Yixing was back to being confused. "What?"

"To be honest, I told myself at the beginning that I shouldn't say yes. Getting involved with someone who'd been engaged just a few months ago had all the signs of a bad idea, but I already liked you too much, so I said yes anyway." Jongdae forced a smile. "Guess it's just me telling myself I told you so now."

Yixing's brows pressed together and his mouth opened a couple times before he found the right words. "What did you think happened that day?"

"She kissed you."

Yixing twisted his body to face Jongdae fully, the puzzle pieces starting to fall into place. "Did you think that I wanted to talk to you to tell you I wanted us to stop seeing each other?"

It was the first time Jongdae showed something other than hesitant resignation. "...Didn't you?"

"Oh my god." Yixing went and stood in front of Jongdae, holding his hands out until Jongdae took them. "She wanted to meet with me to apologize for how abrupt our breakup was. Neither of us want to get back together. I even told her about you."

Jongdae's face scrunched up a little. "What?"

Yixing squeezed Jongdae's hands. "She was just saying goodbye when she kissed me. It was habit, nothing romantic. I'm not breaking up with you. Unless you want to break up with me because you're angry about me lying."

Jongdae pulled his hands away only to hug Yixing's waist and rest his head against Yixing's chest. He hit Yixing's back lightly. "I should break up with you for that," he said, but there was no force behind his words. He squeezed tighter and Yixing pressed his lips to the top of Jongdae's head.

"I'm sorry for not being honest with you."

The only acknowledgment he received was a small nod from Jongdae. They stayed like that for a while, Yixing petting Jongdae's hair and stroking his back. It was getting late though and Yixing eyed the bag still on the dining table.

"Come on, you should eat," Yixing said, running his fingers through the hair at Jongdae's nape. "What'd you order?"

Jongdae pulled away, but kept his hands clutching Yixing's shirt. "That chicken place where we met, officially. I accidentally ordered enough for two. Didn't mean to."

"Guess we'll just have to eat together," Yixing said, stepping away, but Jongdae didn't let go. Yixing looked at him, bemused.

"You haven't seen me in over a week and you're not going to kiss me?"

Yixing laughed softly in relief. "You're right, terrible oversight on my part." He stood between Jongdae's legs and placed his hands on Jongdae's thighs, leaning a bit of his weight forward until their mouths were almost touching. It wasn't until Jongdae muttered Yixing's name in warning that he closed the gap and pressed their lips together. It was soft and slow at first, but Jongdae's hand came up to Yixing's collar and tugged him even closer, kissing him with undeniable heat that left Yixing breathless.

It was tempting, really tempting, to forget about the food and drag Jongdae to his room, but Baekhyun was correct in saying he was the responsible friend. This whole misunderstanding happened because Yixing had a lapse in judgment and lost common sense communication skills and he wasn't keen on continuing the habit. So he forced them apart and cradled Jongdae's face in both hands.

"Food's probably getting cold," said Yixing, pulling Jongdae up off the couch. He went to the kitchen and grabbed two plates, placing one in front of Jongdae as they both sat down at the table. Jongdae's words from earlier looped in his head as he watched Jongdae open the take out containers. "You're not some quarter-life identity crisis rebound, I hope you know that."

Jongdae shrugging wasn't the response Yixing was hoping for. He took a drumstick and put it on his plate, but didn't touch it again. "At the beginning you said you didn't know what you wanted, then two days later you showed up suddenly wanting to date me. So yeah, I thought maybe you just liked the idea of having someone again."

"Do you still think that?"

"I try not to."

Yixing nudged Jongdae's foot underneath the table. "I worried too, that I was taking advantage of you in the beginning, but I once described to Baekhyun how cute you were in your glasses for a solid minute with a dumb lovesick look on my face."

Jongdae smiled a bit at that. "I'm not a rebound because you think I look cute in glasses?"

"It seems like a weak argument, I know," Yixing said, taking a deep breath. "But there's plenty of other things which I can go on and on about with a lovesick look on my face if that'll help. I'm just trying to say I really, really, _really_ like you. Genuinely. I'm grateful we met."

"Okay, okay." Finally, Jongdae seemed to brighten, clearing his throat and dragging his palms down his face and the back of his neck as if that would help hide the faint blush which appeared during the middle of Yixing's confession. "I get it."

"Are you sure? Do you need me to talk about dimples you have on your back that I find adorable?"

"Stop it or I'll make you," Jongdae said, pretending to wield his drumstick like a gag. This was the version of him Yixing was used to and was relieved to see again.

While they ate, Yixing caught Jongdae up on all the updates with the musical and how the show earlier tonight had been perfect. He waved off Jongdae's apology for bailing since there was still two weeks worth of chances to make up for it. While they washed the meager amount of dishes afterward, Yixing reminded Jongdae that Baekhyun's double date invitation was still open. "Taeyeon really wants to meet you. I guess Baekhyun won't shut up about us?"

"Is Baekhyun always this supportive of his friends' relationships?"

"He calls Chanyeol and Jongin, 'Chongin', you know, like Brangelina. I told him he could probably be reported for that, but those two love it."

Jongdae laughed, loud and sharp, hugging Yixing from behind as he rinsed off the last glass and set it in the drying rack. Yixing really missed that sound. "He doesn't have one for us though? I'm a little hurt."

"Please don't ask him for one," Yixing said, even though he secretly found the idea cute. "I do not need him to start referring to us as some combined unit."

"Jongxing?" Jongdae said, walking backwards and leading Yixing to his room. "Yidae. Xingdae!"

Horrified, Yixing did the only the he could think of to make Jongdae cease this terrible train of thought. He kissed him. Jongdae grinned knowingly against Yixing's mouth, but kissed back as if to say he'd concede this one time.

Yixing took what he could get.

+

For the very last show, Yixing actually took the stage at the end and took a final bow with the cast. Yixing did always love the stage, but only when he performed. The attention he received in these types of moments was always on the edge of overwhelming, especially when he glanced across the crowd and caught Jongdae's eye.

Getting out to the lobby was like an obstacle course. Yixing was stopped every two steps by one of the students and had to go through a round of congratulations. He escaped finally only to be dropped in the middle of another crowd and honestly, he wasn't interested in making jokes about Jongdae's height, but finding him among hundreds of people was challenging.

Someone knocked into him suddenly and he would've stumbled if the same person hadn't locked their arm around his waist. Looking down, the hand was familiar.

"Congratulations!" came Jongdae's distinct voice in his ear. Jongdae swung around and shoved a bouquet of flowers into Yixing's arms. "I laughed, I cried, I ascended into a higher realm."

"You don't have to exaggerate like that. I'm happy still if you just say you liked it."

"I'm trying to win in the supportive boyfriend competition."

Yixing blinked. "Against who?"

"Chongin."

Yixing rubbed the bridge of his nose. "I know I've said this before, but I genuinely regret ever introducing you and Baekhyun to each other."

As if on cue, Baekhyun appeared, squeezing through the crowd with Taeyeon behind him. "Hey, you got flowers." He pouted at Taeyeon. "How come you didn't get me flowers?"

"Because you can't keep them alive for more than two days, sweetie," Taeyeon said with a pristine smile. "And I didn't want to."

"Being in love is _great_ , super recommend it," Baekhyun told Yixing and Jongdae. "Hey, the after party is going to be at some karaoke bar. I figure we show up for half an hour, belt out some Journey to show we're extremely hip adults, and then leave before we have to take any responsibility for whatever students get up to when they're left to their own devices."

"You are a stellar educator," Yixing said, but he hadn't intended to stay long there anyway. Jongdae's hand had already found its home in Yixing's back pocket. Celebratory flowers were great, but there were other methods Yixing was more interested in.

"We've got a dinner date later anyway," Jongdae said, taking initiative to drape Yixing's arm over his shoulders. Yixing look at him in surprise, because they hadn't talked about if they wanted to do anything later. Jongdae smiled and nudged Yixing's hip with his.

It all clicked then and Yixing dropped a kiss to Jongdae's forehead.

"That's right, a dinner date."


End file.
